Off the Beaten Path
by IsebellaLynnette
Summary: 100 Themes. 100 Days. Are you ready to rumble? Because I will be updating EVERY SINGLE DAY, except for when I'm gone at camps. T for some language and unpleasant stuff. ON HOLD FROM 7/09 ONWARD. *double update!*
1. Author's Note

_Off the Beaten Path_

Summary: 100 Themes. 100 Days. No excuses. No exceptions. Are you ready to rumble? Because I will be updating EVERY SINGLE DAY, except for the several days I'm gone at camps. Let's go. Begin..._now!_

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><p>Yep, that's right. This is my apology to every single one of you fellow RA fanfiction reviewers and authors.<p>

I'll probably only do one theme per day, in keeping with the summary above. And also, to the winners of my Blackest Night contest, don't worry; I'm working on the reviews as I'm typing this right now.

Thank you all, and I truly am sorry about my huge delay in updating.

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><p>By the way, I'll probably be using this for my JulNoWriMo, so expect long chapters and interrelated events.<p>

And also, I think it's time I tried an OC story.

Maybe about a girl.


	2. Introduction

Summary:

Daughter of Whitby Fief's poorest farmers, sixteen-year-old Ashlynn Roanoke has become a petty thief to keep her family from starving. Her father died before she was born, while her mother lies sick in bed all the time; her older sister sits around at their home doing nothing besides checking her complexion in their dusty old mirror. Responsibility has landed heavily on Ashlynn's shoulders, but it's not until a certain someone takes notice of her stealing acts that some of that burden lightens...

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><p>By the way, thanks to my reviewers from my Author's Note! Even though...it was an author's note. XD Thanks, <span>D<span>odo.123 and THE GIRL NEST DOOR. (Did you mean _next_ door? 'Cause I typed that first, instead of 'nest.' XD)

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><p><em>Note: takes place after the events of book 10<em>

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><p><strong>Introduction<strong>

The sun was going down gradually, resting lightly on top of the nearby hills. That meant I didn't have much time left.

My stomach growled as I passed by the small bakery, and I paused by the window for a moment, staring hungrily at the delicate pastries and loaves steaming on their racks. Oh, what I would give for a hot-out-of-the-oven loaf of bread!

Or even half of one.

_Almost there, Ash,_ I told myself. _You only need to get one more royal._

And so, I sighed and forced myself to move on, glancing at all the shops and stalls of Market Day until one in particular caught my eye.

The jeweller.

I darted into the crowd of people moving up and down the street, weaving my way through the small gaps between the different groups of people—some were teenagers like me; some were families traveling together; some were loners wandering around, also like me.

My father had died before I was even born, thanks to a bandit attack on our large, rather important fief. My mother had slowly weakened every day ever since two years ago, thanks to her numerous ailments and diseases. And my older sister?

She was the kind of person who would bury her hand into a food dish, then be too lazy to even bring her hand back to her mouth.

So I was the one who had to take care of our family.

I wasn't _that_ bitter about it, though. I'd much rather it was me doing the work rather than my sister. Because even if she'd had the presence of mind to take some of the responsibility off my shoulders, her hands would have been too soft and pure white to do any of the work well.

You see, all she was concerned about was her complexion.

Unfortunately for me, no one in Whitby had wanted to take in a scrawny farm girl to do work for them.

That's why I became a thief.

That's why I hid in the shadows by the jeweller's stall to look for any customers I could snatch either purchases or money from.

I looked all around for them, but everyone seemed to be either disinterested in what the jeweller was selling, or disappointed that the prices were so high.

Just as I decided to walk away and try my luck at another stall—one with _reasonable_ prices—a little girl who couldn't have been more than twelve years old walked up and pointed at an expensive-looking necklace.

_Probably for her mom,_ I thought. Tomorrow was Mother's Day, after all.

"That'll be two royals, lassie," the jeweller said, eagerly thrusting out an eager hand to take the money.

The girl backed away a little bit—apparently I wasn't the only one who knew about the jeweller's money habits—and pulled out a purse. Sadly, she counted up her money and gave one royal and one silver piece to the jeweller.

"I'm afraid that's all I have, sir," she said.

"Oh," the jeweller said, clearly disappointed. Then he brightened again as the girl took the necklace off its stand and called over her shoulder, "I'll pay you back once I earn some more money."

The poor child didn't even have proper clothes to wear, only tattered rags, and here she was, buying a beautiful present for her mom. Did I really have the heart to steal from her?

No, I decided.

So I switched my focus to the bulging coin bag the jeweller put his just-earned money in. Even that little silver piece the girl had given to the jeweller would be enough for a tiny bit more of Mother's medicine, combined with the three royals I'd stolen earlier today.

In fact, I was sure I could take the entire bag without feeling too much guilt on my conscience. The jeweller was quite well-off—his proceeds from his stall earned him more money per fortnight than the local seamstress made in a twelvemonth. And believe me, our seamstress was one of the best. She was the reason why I was dressed better than the little girl.

But how would I explain to Mother how I had suddenly gotten so much money? I couldn't very well tell her that I'd taken the jeweller's entire money stash. She would be so ashamed of me.

Still, I told myself that she—and I—could live with me only taking a few coins.

After glancing around to make sure nobody would see me stealing, I slipped behind the jeweller's stall and waited until the jeweller's attention was distracted before grabbing a royal and two silver pieces.

Now I could buy my mother a full dose of her prescription medicine with enough money leftover for some _real_ food.

After all, no one was currently working our lands. We'd had to get rid of our field hands to save money.

But just as I was slipping past the jeweller's stall again, a hand shot out of the darkness and fastened its iron grip around my wrist!

"Dear me, young lady," a deep voice said. "I do believe you just took several coins from our jeweller. Let's not rush off anywhere in a hurry, shall we?"

_Oh God,_ I thought as I recognized the voice. Then, as I looked up into my captor's dark, forbidding eyes, I felt a shiver of fear run through me.

My captor was none other than Gilan, Ranger of Whitby Fief.

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><p>So...do you like? If so, review! If not, then...still review! Just don't flame. Flames are nasty, uncontrollable critiques that blaze a scene of destruction and hurt all around them.<p>

Anyway, the following chapters will probably be longer than this...introductions are always shorter than the other chapters, after all...

And also, I know that Mother's Day was ages ago...just deal with it. XD

Now please, review! :3 *puppy eyes*


	3. Love

Hey, thanks to my reviewers from last time! Dodo.123, Gilan is not just cool. He's totally awesome. Um' with a capital U (great username, by the way), thank you for the encouragement! :) And Lovemusic2, thank you so much! :D I live off of reviews...well, not always...but mostly.

MeL! Hello there! Thank you for reviewing. XD

Oh yeah, thanks again to Dodo.123 for alerting this story! *le gasp* Yay! 8D

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><p><strong>Love<strong>

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><p><em>~Ashlynn's POV~<em>

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><p>I was thrust into the Baron's office to await my punishment detail.<p>

Baron Fendrel looked up from his paperwork. A well-muscled, broad-shouldered man, he was the typical warrior type. But he was an even better representative of the administrative type. Part of the reason why Whitby had prospered so greatly following his appointment as Baron two years ago.

"What have we here, Gilan? Did this young lady get in trouble for cheating at one of our marketplace games?" the Baron asked, eyes twinkling as he looked me up and down.

"Oh, far worse than that, my lord," Gilan replied, tight-lipped. "I caught her stealing from our jeweller. And I also found these three royals on her person."

He held up the gold pieces, shining as they caught the light from Baron Fendrel's lamp.

The good humor in the Baron's eyes vanished without a trace. "I see," he said slowly, studying me once again. "So...what do you want to do with her?"

Gilan shrugged. "That's what I was going to ask you, my lord."

"I see," the Baron said again, frowning this time. "Well then, Miss..."

"Ashlynn," I said quietly. "Ashlynn Roanoke."

The Baron frowned again. "I don't..." he began, when Gilan cut him off.

"Perhaps, Miss Ashlynn, you could tell us _why_ you were stealing from our jeweller and God knows who else?" the Ranger asked, holding up those three tantalizing gold pieces again.

"Good idea, Gilan," the Baron said. Then he turned toward me and gestured for me to begin. "Go on."

"My lords, do you know the meaning of love?" I said quietly. "Do you know the strength of the word 'family' and of the love that binds it together?" And then suddenly, the words began to jumble together and my voice became louder and louder as I cried, "Do you know the grief a daughter feels at her father's death? Do you know the sorrow a girl feels as her mother slowly ages and dies? Do you know the weight of the burdens a parent's death places on a child? Do you know what I feel? TELL ME!"

The tears were streaming down my face by then, but I made no move to wipe them away. Instead, I buried my face in my hands and sobbed, all the trials and hardships of the past two years finally coming out.

"Do you know the despair someone feels to have to feed on the slops of the pigs? How it feels to watch everyone else walk in the streets, clothed and fed, while you beg for money to feed your family and clothe yourself? To ignore the taunts of the rich, of the nobles? To plead for work in front of all the shops in town, and be turned down every time? To have to pay for your mother's medicine while your sibling stays at home, looking at herself in the mirror?"

Someone wrapped their arms around me. I tried to push them away, then gave in and pretty much cried away all the fear, anger, and sadness in my life.

Finally, when my tears were reduced to only the occasional sniffle, I was released from the tight embrace and turned to face the Baron again.

"I'm sorry," I said huskily.

The Baron shook his head. "I am the one who should be sorry. I didn't keep accurate records of everyone living here in Whitby. But tell me, Ashlynn," he said gently, "why didn't you tell me about your situation before?"

"I tried to, my lord. Your guards wouldn't let me."

"Is that so?" he said, his eyes hardening. "Tell me what they told you."

I screwed up my eyes, pretending to have forgotten the words, when in reality they were burned into my mind.

"'Little girls who can't even clothe themselves properly have no business talking to the Baron,'" I recited as if reading from a schoolbook. "'Imagine! A little urchin wearing tattered rags demanding to see the Baron!'"

By the way, I had gone to the guards almost two years ago, when I had not yet stolen enough money to fix up my clothes.

When the Baron spoke again, his voice was very quiet and his smile never reached his eyes. "I will definitely be having a word with those guards very soon."

"I can offer you work, Ashlynn," Gilan said softly.

I jumped. I'd almost forgotten that he was there.

"What could a scrawny farm girl do for a Ranger?" I asked. Then, before Gilan could reply, I turned back to the Baron and bowed. "Thank you for your consideration, my lord. I'll be heading back home now."

"With no money to pay for your mother's illness?" Gilan asked. "Be reasonable, Ashlynn. I'm not about to let you stroll out of the Baron's office and continue your stealing acts. But on the other hand, I can't stand by and watch you and your family starve. You need a way to earn money so that you can pay for medicine, food, and clothing."

I hesitated. What he said was true. But what the townsfolk said about Rangers might also be true.

They were the Black Artists. Sorcerers. Magicians. The living messengers of the devil.

I didn't believe that last part, but I kind of believed the first three parts of the rumors about Rangers. They were a secret, arcane group, shrouded in mystery and shadow.

Gilan smiled wryly, as if he knew exactly what I was thinking. "Don't worry, I won't turn you into a frog," he said jokingly. "Just don't use your...special abilities/talents to steal anything else. All right?"

I nodded. "Thank you so much, sir. You have no idea how relieved I am."

Gilan shrugged, perhaps a little uncomfortably. "No problem at all. Now run along and tell your mother the good news."

"Thank you. Thank you so much," I said again, bowing to first Gilan, then the Baron. Then I left the Baron's office, closing the door behind me.

As I descended down the stairs, past the same guards Gilan had startled when he'd brought me to Baron Fendrel, I realized I was smiling.

Finally, some good news to take home to Mother.

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><p>Oh, I <em>love<em> Gilan so much. What do you guys think?

Oh yeah, I don't know why I'm telling you guys this, but apparently when I woke up I was still half-asleep, so I bumped into my stand and it fell over and knocked _me_ over. And I didn't realize I was on the ground until several minutes later. XD Wow...dang, I must have been tired.

Review, please!


	4. Light

Thanks to my recurring reviewers! Dodo.123 and Lovemusic2, you both get a virtual hug from yours truly. :D And to Shadow Cyrse (you have an awesome pen name, by the way), a virtual cookie for being the 3rd reviewer of chapter 3! Get it? ...Maybe? ...Or not.

Anyway, thanks again for all the reviews. Hope you enjoy!

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><p><strong>Light<strong>

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><p><em>~Ashlynn's POV~<em>

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><p>At first light, I stormed out of the house, ears still ringing with Annaliese's parting shouts.<p>

_"You mark my words, Ashlynn Maria Roanoke! You go to that Ranger's house, and you'll never come back alive. He'll steal your soul and eat it raw!"_

"Idiot," I muttered under my breath. "She doesn't do _any_ of the work in the house, and she has the nerve to tell _me_ what to do!"

Not only that, but my sister had used my full name. She knew how much I hated my middle name; she'd used it just to vex me.

Besides, no one could take someone's soul and actually _eat_ it. That was impossible.

My foul mood instantly dispersed as I entered the woods on the edge of Whitby Village. Cool, dark, and welcoming, the trees formed a haven to escape to after being in the company of an ailing woman and a lazy butt of a girl.

I breathed in deeply and smiled.

"Pleasant morning, isn't it?"

I whirled around to see none other than Gilan himself. Awkwardly, I made a half-bow from my standing position and muttered, "My mother wished to thank you for the service you are doing us. She told me to give you this."

I handed an ancient half-sheet of parchment to Gilan, who studied it for several moments, clearly puzzled at why I had given him _that_, of all things.

Eventually, he rolled it up and placed it into the breast pocket of his jerkin, then said, "I...will treasure it always. Tell your mother thank you very much."

And then his grin evaporated his previous grim manner as he said, "I'll enjoy this shortbread recipe a lot."

I smiled back. His good humor was infectious.

"So, what will I be doing for you today, sir?"

Gilan scratched the blond stubble on his chin thoughtfully. "Well, let's see here. Let's you and I go to my cabin. I'll show you what you can do there."

And so saying, he quickly strode off farther into the woods, the camouflage cloak he wore already merging his body with the trees as he called over his shoulder, "You'd better come quickly if you want any wages. I don't pay workers for their lateness!"

I shrugged and took off after him, stumbling every now and then thanks to the inconsiderate tree roots hidden under the twigs and other plants of the forest. Still, I was too excited to be annoyed at the trees. After all, they were what made this forest beautiful. And besides, I had to catch up with Gilan before I could think about anything else.

"He takes such long strides," I muttered under my breath as I hurried to catch up, following the trail he'd taken that wound its way through the trees.

And then I stopped and swore.

"_Now_ which path do I take?" I wondered aloud, taking in the three trails turning and twisting, serpent-like, so that after a few meters they disappeared into the surrounding greenery.

Which one had the Ranger taken?

I started uncertainly down the leftmost branch, then stopped and hesitated. As I turned back toward the way I'd come, I caught a glimpse of something in a bramble bush that was highly out place. I rushed over to the bush and stooped down to inspect the piece of cloth snagged on one of its brambles. Greenish-brown, rough, and—even caught on the brambles as it was—already blending into the background.

Definitely part of the Ranger's cloak.

I hurriedly cast my vision around for more snatches of cloth, and was quickly rewarded by a sight of more rough cloth, this time shimmering on the ground in a pile of dry twigs on the center trail. It was an unnatural place for cloth to be snagged off, though, and I puzzled over it until I saw another nearby bramble bush and nodded. Now I had my route.

As I sprinted along the path, trying to make up for the time I'd lost looking for where Gilan had gone, I noticed more occasional signs of someone's presence: several footprints in some convenient mud and more cloth.

There was even a posted sign with red words saying, _Ranger's cabin up ahead! Turn back now or suffer the consequences! You have been warned._

I shook my head in disbelief. The words looked as if they had been written with blood.

In fact, that conjecture had probably been the goal of the writer. I wondered briefly if Gilan had written it, then I shook my head again. No, he didn't seem like that kind of person. More likely, one of the local villagers had taken it upon himself to write the warning and post it in front of the Ranger's cabin.

Not that most people would have needed a warning anyway.

As I rounded yet another bend in the trail, the path abruptly stopped and opened up into a wide clearing, in the center of which was the wooden cabin. A welcoming puff of smoke curled around the chimney. Dappled light, blocked partly by the tallest trees of the forest, poured onto the clearing and the cabin, giving both a heavenly appearance. To one side of the clearing, an archery range had been set up, where a cloaked figure was currently thudding arrow after arrow into the targets.

Each arrow hit the bulls-eye.

As I watched, open-mouthed, Gilan seemed to notice me for the first time, though both he and I knew that he'd been aware of my presence since before I'd even stepped into the clearing.

He grinned now. "Not bad, eh?"

I shook my head in amazement. "How in the world do you Rangers do that? It's as if there's a mystic union between you and your bows."

Gilan's face grew serious again as he replied, "Not a bad description. In fact, I've heard of our...bond being called that before." And then he continued, even more serious now, "We Rangers _need_ that sort of partnership between us and our bows. Without that bond..."

I gazed at the line of arrows all in a line, all in the bulls-eyes of their respective targets. No wonder it was said that "a Ranger carries the lives of twenty-four men in his quiver."

_Woe to the man who dares challenge one of them,_ I thought, solemnly assessing the accuracy of the arrows once again.

"Right then!" Gilan exclaimed, rubbing his hands together. "How's this. I'll pay you today, even though you were late..." Both he and I grinned. And that in itself was a small miracle, because I knew no other person that could make me smile that often and that big.

"...As long as you finish all of the work I assign you by the time I return from my errands."

"How long will you be running your errands, sir?" I asked. How much time I could spend on each "assignment" would depend on how long he was gone.

He seemed to consider the answer, though I had the strange feeling that he'd already planned this all out. "I should be back...oh, let's say...just before dinner. That'll give you more than ten hours to get everything done. Let's see here..." He took out a piece of paper from a hidden pocket somewhere on the inside of his cloak, then read it rapidly, eyes scanning the page like dozens of arrows being shot down the archery range again.

"Fetch the water, clean the pots, sweep the floors, clean the stables, beat the rugs, chop the firewood, cook the meals..."

He trailed off and frowned at me. "You _do_ know how to chop firewood and cook meals, right? Of course you do," he answered his own question before I could respond. "Clean the fireplace, wash the dishes, clean the rooms, water the plants, wash the clothes..."

Again, he trailed off, but this time simply to turn the page over. "Polish the countertops, dust the furniture, clean the mirrors. Bucket by the door, barrel outside, pots in the cupboard, broom also by the door, stables also outside, rugs on the floor, ax and the firewood behind the cabin, fireplace I _hope_ you can see, dishes in the sink, rooms in the cabin, plants also in the cabin, clothes-hamper also in the cabin, countertops I believe you can see, furniture I also believe you can see, mirrors in the rooms. Got that?"

I blinked several times. "Er, no, sir."

The grin finally showed through on Gilan's face. "Just as well that I decided to leave this paper with you."

"Thank you, sir," I said, the relief in my voice obvious. Gilan grinned at me again.

Then he whistled and a shaggy-maned horse came trotting from the stables. Gilan swung up easily into the saddle and set his horse to an easy canter toward the castle, calling over his shoulder, "Have fun!"

I snorted when I heard the parting sally.

"Thanks for your consideration," I called back. I saw him shrug his shoulders slightly, so I assumed that he'd heard my retort.

A faint smile touched my lips. _Serves him right,_ I thought. Then, I heaved a heavy sigh and reluctantly retrieved the bucket, then headed to the Antolian River, a five-minute-walk going normal speed. I sighed again. The return trips from the river would take longer because I would be weighed down by the bucket full of water.

I glanced quickly at the barrel. Twenty buckets full at least. More like twenty-five, in fact. Or maybe even thirty.

I sighed yet again. It was going to be a long day.

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><p>Wow, that was a rather long chapter. If you read all the way down here without skipping anything and without skimming the words, give yourself a hand. :) I'll do it with you. *gives proud reader a hand*<p>

Now what are you waiting for? Review!


	5. Dark

Ooh, look at this! _Two_ updates in the same day! I must be cranking out those words like a factory. XD

You'd better review because I gave you this treat. ;) *hint hint nudge nudge*

14 reviews! *Dances to the tune of Cha-cha music* I love you guys so much! *squeals* Thanks once again to Dodo.123 and Lovemusic2, as well as Raider1472. I enjoyed making Ashlynn do all those chores. I'll give you guys that same list if you don't review. XD

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><p><strong>Dark<strong>

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><p><em>~Ashlynn's POV~<em>

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><p>It was six o'clock and nearly dark by the time Gilan returned. I sat in one of the two chairs by the fireplace, idly reading the same sentence over and over in his book <em>History of the Ranger Corps: 150 Years' Tradition<em> and didn't notice as he silently opened the door and stepped inside.

"Did you oil the hinges?"

I jumped. The book crashed to the floor with a loud thud. Then I whipped my head around and finally saw him.

"Er, yes, sir, I did." As I noticed his disapproving expression, I elaborated hurriedly. "You see, sir, that's always what Mother told me to do at our house, and so I thought since the hinges were so..."

I trailed off as he shook his head slowly. "Never, ever do that again. Not even in your own house. Oil the hinges, and any half-decent burglar will be able to get in. Something you should know yourself." His electrifying blue gaze arrested mine, so I stared at the floor uncomfortably.

"Still, I'm impressed that you actually noticed." I looked up. Gilan's voice was milder now, and he continued, "Look, Ashlynn, just do what I tell you and forget about everything else, all right?"

"Yes, sir. Sorry about your book, sir."

Gilan strode over to where the book lay open on the floor, then shook his head dismissively. "That one? Don't worry about that. I only keep it because the Commandant Ranger requires it. Although I am surprised, you being a farm girl knowing how to read."

"Before Mother grew sick, she made sure to teach Annaliese and I the basics in education. Some addition and subtraction. Lettering and script. Words and sentences. Though I have no idea where she learned that herself." I shrugged, as if it was no big deal. "Besides, I was able to read that sheet of paper you gave me."

"That's right," Gilan said thoughtfully. He looked around the central room of the cabin. The pots were gleaming in their cupboard, the dishes were dry in their respective racks, a bubbling stew was cheerfully brewing on the stove, the rugs were beaten, the floor was swept, the bright wildflowers in their vases had been watered.

He then inspected the rest of the cabin, as well as the firewood, water barrel (thirty-_one_ buckets full), and stables outside. Then he came back in and said, "Looks nice." Casually, he tossed four royals to me. Caught unawares, I fumbled the first two, but thankfully retained my dignity for the last two. Then I hurried to pick up the ones I'd dropped.

"Thank you, sir!"

"You'll get more if your stew tastes any good," he said with a wink.

"Thank you, sir. But I should be getting home now." I stood and hesitated. "Er, how long did you say my hours were again, sir?"

"I didn't," Gilan replied, grinning.

I couldn't help myself. I had to giggle, which I'm pretty sure I've done _never_.

This Gilan was a strange Ranger, all right.

"Oh, go on," he said, shooing me off. "I hope your mother's happier tonight than she's ever been in her entire life."

I smiled wryly. "Oh, I don't know about that, sir. She was beautiful and so full of joy when my father was still alive." I hesitated, then said, "Or so everyone tells me."

Gilan smiled back. "Just get the medicine and food you need, then bring them home and enjoy yourself."

As I stepped off the verandah, closing the cabin's door behind me, he seemed to remember something and opened his door again.

"I expect you at my cabin by six o'clock tomorrow morning!"

_Oh goody,_ I thought. But I was still excited to be able to spend some more time with him. The thought spread joy throughout my entire being, and I walked briskly through the woods back to Whitby Village, a newfound energy in my bones.

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><p><em>~Gilan's POV~<em>

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><p>Ashlynn was a pleasant enough girl once you got her talking, but I have to admit I was still suspicious of her motives. How could I be certain that she wouldn't revert to her old ways the instant she was out my door?<p>

I would have to follow her to make sure.

So I waited several minutes, hoping she wouldn't suspect me doing this, then slipped out of the cabin, my massive longbow present as always. I briefly checked to make sure my quiver was within easy reach, then glided smoothly from one shadow to the next, heading quickly, quietly, and—most importantly—unseen toward Whitby Village.

It wasn't long before I found her at the local apothecary, humming a wordless tune to herself as she gathered the many herbal remedies and concoctions her mother needed. Those supplies totaled two-and-a-half royals, leaving her one-and-a-half from her wages. I was relieved to see that she had no more and no less than the amount I'd calculated.

But that didn't mean she wouldn't steal somewhere else.

So I continued to follow her. Apparently, she'd already went to the healer for medicine, or this one day she didn't have to buy that expensive medicine, because she made a beeline for the bakery, greeting the baker's wife, who was filling in for her husband.

"One loaf, please, Rolanda/Ronda," Ashlynn said politely, waiting for the baker's wife to wrap the hot-out-of-the-oven bread in a paper sheet before paying one royal.

Half a royal left.

What would she spend it on?

I felt a surge of relief as she headed to the jeweller—this time with her honestly-earned money. She pointed to a dainty bracelet that, according to Greedy Greg, was worth two royals, whereas I'd seen better quality sold elsewhere for half a royal.

"One-and-a-half royals," Greg said firmly when Ashlynn showed him her remaining money.

Ashlynn's eyebrows came down on her face like thunderclouds. The jeweller gulped and backed away a little. Privately, I thought that I might have taken the same course of action had I been in his place.

"Isn't it enough for you to be well-off in this fief?" Ashlynn said, in a dangerously low voice. "To be in one of the wealthiest positions of the commoners, with your mansion of a cottage? To make more money in one week than Miss Beatrice makes in six months?"

She was referring to our seamstress, of course. One of the best in the entire Kingdom. Maybe even in the entire world.

"Must you really charge that much for this rather low-quality bracelet?" Ashlynn continued, in that same threatening tone. "Must you really force a little girl, no more than twelve years old, dressed in tattered rags, to pay you two royals for a necklace worth only half that price?"

I was surprised that she'd even noticed the condition of the little girl's clothes who'd come by the jeweller's stall yesterday, Ashlynn being a thief and all. But I suppose that's why she'd ignored the girl and taken on the harder-to-steal money.

"I'll pay half-a-royal, and that's all. And I'm not paying you back the difference," Ashlynn said, her voice harsh and uncompromising. "And you'd better apologize to that little girl and return one royal of her money."

Greg waited until she'd paid up, taken the bracelet, and stalked away before calling, "What if I don't?"

Ashlynn turned back and smiled, if you could call it that. It was more like the snarl of a wolf when it has cornered its prey.

"Oh, but you will," she said ominously, then whirled around and disappeared into the crowd of people lining the streets.

_Interesting,_ I thought. _She'd make a fine..._

I stopped myself abruptly, shaking my head vigorously. What was I even thinking about? She was a girl.

So I forced myself to move on, following her back to her home.

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><p><em>~Ashlynn's POV~<em>

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><p>I sighed to myself as I wound my way through the streets, gradually growing more and more deserted and more and more disheveled until I reached the end of the streets and the beginnings of the alleys.<p>

Pausing as I reached the dark entryway to the less...pleasant areas of Whitby, I wondered why I'd gotten so emotional over _Sir_ Greg's overcharging. He'd been doing it for years and was too set in his ways to change now. The Baron had tried and failed. The other shopkeepers had tried and failed. I wasn't sure, but I thought even Gilan hadn't succeeded in getting him to lower his prices.

I guess I was just so angry at how he'd ripped off that poor, uncomplaining girl from yesterday.

My manner had certainly been menacing enough.

Now, I wondered if it had been wise to linger so long at Gilan's cabin. Usually, I was home well before dark, before the _real_ street crimes took place.

I shrugged mentally. I'd just have to be extra careful and not let myself get distracted, as I might have two days ago.

Still, last night I hadn't had any problems, so I didn't expect any tonight.

How wrong I was. How very, very wrong.

As I veered toward the very last of the grim alleys, I relaxed and smiled as I thought of the expression on Mother's face as she saw what I had bought. Then suddenly, several figures seemed to rise out of the darkness, circling around me and cutting me off from any outside help that I might have received.

Key word: might.

My gaze switched nervously from one to the next as I tried to determine which of these roughnecks would be the first to attack.

"Hey, little girl," one of them whispered raggedly. I nearly gagged at the reek of wine and ale emanating from him, but I forced myself to stand stern and erect, contenting myself with a disdainful smile aimed at all of them.

"I am no 'little girl,'" I replied calmly, which was remarkable considering the fact that my heart was pounding at double-time in my chest.

"Yeah? Prove it," another challenged me, swaying back and forth and waving his arms in little circles every so often to keep his balance.

_Oh God,_ I thought as the seven of them started to close in even more. Drunk they might be, but everyone living in this area knew the pitiless manner they seemed to carry all the time. Desperately, I cast my gaze outside the circle, hoping against hope that _someone_ was out there. Someone who could, who _would_, help me.

But there was no one.

Though I knew there could only be one end to this contest, I decided that surprise was my best ally. So I suddenly whirled around and tackled one of the men behind me. Thank God he hadn't been expecting it. Now I grappled with him desperately, fighting with all my skill and will to keep that deadly blade away from me.

Suddenly, I felt a searing pain at my side and glanced down to see blood pouring out of a wound on my side. What happened next was all in rapid succession. Something hit my head, hard, and as consciousness was fleeing from me, I heard cries of alarm, the _twang_s of some things being released, and someone shouting for me to stay awake...

Then darkness enveloped me in its arms.

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><p>Ooh, major cliffie! *grin* And another extremely long chapter!<p>

Wondering where the heck Gilan went in the last moments? You'll find out next chappie, don't worry...tomorrow! XD

Please please please review. Or Gilan will come after you with a mad axeman, and they will both trap you at the edge of a cliff and cut your bowstring (if you even had one) and force you to fight with two knives.

PS: You should jump. It'll be _way_ cleaner. *smirk*


	6. Seeking Solace

The promised update! Behold! XD

Sorry about the lateness, btw...issues with connectivity...but those are over with now. :)

Thanks again to my reviewers...I'll just give you guys nicknames 'cause I'm too lazy to write your full users out again. Dodo, Music, Shadow, and Raider, (if you guys are offended by those nicknames, let me know) thank you all for your reviews! I hope you all enjoy this next chapter.

Btw, did anyone else notice that I gave the baker's wife two names? XD

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><p><strong>Seeking Solace<strong>

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><p><em>~Ashlynn's POV~<em>

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><p>Slowly, consciousness filtered through my being as I lay motionless on my bed.<p>

Sunlight streamed into my room through the nearby window.

Wait...my room?

I tried to rise, gave a sharp cry as pain exploded through my left side, then lay back on the pillow, defeated.

"Easy there," a low, familiar voice said. "You've been hurt bad."

With great difficulty, I forced my eyes to open; my head swam momentarily as the image of the person leaning over me swayed and blurred. Then, suddenly, my vision cleared, and I recognized who it was.

"Gilan," I whispered weakly, though I felt like shouting his name a hundred times. "What...happened?"

"You were wounded by a deep knife stab in your side," he said gently, lifting a cup of water to my lips so I could drink easily.

"You also took a pretty hard hit to the head, and you have a wide variety of bruises scattered across your body."

I lay there quietly for several more minutes, taking this all in. No wonder I felt like someone had hammered me all over, from my head to my toes. Then I gathered up my strength so that I could ask another question.

"Mother?" I whispered.

Gilan took my hand and squeezed it gently. "I've been paying for her medicine these past two days."

"Ah," I said, in a kind of half-sigh. I relaxed and closed my eyes again. Then they flew open and I again tried to sit up, crying, "Two days?"

"Relax, Ashlynn," Gilan said, carefully laying me back down, making sure I was truly relaxed again before replying.

"Yes, you were out cold for two days. Unsurprising, considering the ordeal you went through."

Just then, someone else entered the room. I recognized Robina, the village healer. She was the one I usually got Mother's medicine from. Her prices were expensive, but her treatments and medicines were highly effective. I just wished Mother's multiple illnesses didn't require me to buy from Robina almost every day.

"Leave us," Robina ordered Gilan, and the Ranger complied as he stood, then exited from the room.

"Now let's see what they've done to you," Robina muttered, more to herself than to me as she began her careful examination. After gently probing the wound in my side—which still flared in pain despite her mother-like touch—she moved on to the rest of my body, rubbing a pain-killing salve onto the more extensive bruises and the massive wound in my side. Then she very gently lifted my head up and tapped it lightly several times until she found the bump.

I grimaced. That one wouldn't be leaving for a while.

"Ashlynn, I'm going to give you some broth, mixed with medicine that will help you sleep. That way I can heal you better without you going through pain. Understand?"

I nodded slowly.

"So I want you to drink this entire bowl," she continued briskly. "Every last drop."

I eagerly gulped down the first couple sips, then grimaced again. The broth would normally have tasted excellent. But mixed with the medicine, it was more than a little revolting. Still, remembering Robina's instructions (more like orders when I thought about them), I obediently finished everything in the bowl, then lay back and relaxed again.

From a long way away, I heard someone say, "Sleep..."

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><p><em>~Gilan's POV~<em>

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><p>I watched sadly from the doorway as Ashlynn obediently downed the sleep potion. If I hadn't allowed myself to be distracted by another of those gangs making their rounds through the alleys, I would have been able to help her. Prevent her from suffering from the enormous wound in her side.<p>

I sighed and left the room again, turning to see Ashlynn's fair-skinned sister...Annaliese, I remembered her name was...glaring at me.

"Satisfied now, Ranger?" she said bitterly. "I hope you are, because there's no way she's _ever_ going back to your cabin again."

I stared at her, open-mouthed. Did that mean she actually cared about Ashlynn? Or...was it something else?

"That's enough, Annaliese," someone behind her said sharply, and the girl turned around to see...it must have been her mother.

She had the same flashing blue eyes as her daughters, along with Ashlynn's braided brown hair and Annaliese's fine-boned appearance, if you didn't consider the wrinkles of her face and sunken, sleepless look.

"The Ranger has been kind enough to pay for my medicine as retribution for what happened to Ashlynn. Although..." now the mother turned toward me, eyes narrowed. "Don't you _dare_ let down your guard when you're caring for Ashlynn again."

I nodded quickly. "I understand, ma'am. It won't happen again."

She eyed me for another moment, seeming to assess my suitability for the task she had set. Then she nodded back. "Agreed. But if you fail to keep your promise..."

I shuddered inwardly and hurriedly said, "We don't need to go into further detail. I'll keep my promise. I'm a man of my word."

The mother sighed. "Your words have the ring of truth, Ranger. But I still worry for her."

"She's a fine girl," I said quietly.

The mother nodded vigorously. "That she is, Ranger. By the way, I'm Mara."

I bowed. Somehow, the show of respect seemed fitting with this woman and her blazing personality. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, ma'am. And I truly am sorry about what happened to Ashlynn."

"I know you are," she replied briefly. Then she turned to her other daughter.

"Annaliese!" she barked. "Stop daydreaming and get the laundry done!"

"Yes, Mum," the girl muttered, scowling. I watched curiously as she gathered up the clothes-hamper, a bucket of water, a sponge, and some soap.

"She's doing some of the work?" I asked Mara, surprised. "Ashlynn told me some rather...unfavorable things about her."

"Well," Mara replied grimly, "I'm certainly able to get Annaliese doing something, now that you've paid for that much of my medicine. This is the best I've felt in a long while. I can thank you for that, at least." Then her voice softened and she added, "Though I was especially touched that Ashlynn bought me something for Mother's Day. Of course, Annaliese _said_ she would have bought me something, if only she'd had some money, but..." she trailed off and shrugged, then continued, "Sometimes people lie to try to make you feel better."

I nodded. I was only too familiar with the fact.

Then, as we heard a weak groan coming from the bedroom Ashlynn shared with Annaliese, the two of us instantly rushed in, to be greeted by a frantic Robina trying to ease the tossing and turning Ashlynn was doing. With a furrowed brow, the healer turned toward Mara and said softly, "Her subconscious is registering the pain from her wounds, and subsequently, she's been restless for the past few minutes. I believe her temperature is going up. Gilan, place this cloth on her forehead and try to keep her settled down while I grab some more supplies," Robina said briskly, nodding to both Mara and I before leaving.

I took the cloth she'd laid on the back of a nearby chair and laid it on Ashlynn's forehead. Mara moved next to her and gently brushed the stray wisps of brown hair off Ashlynn's face. The girl had motherly affection, but what about the father counterpart? She'd said during our conference in the Baron's office that her father had died before she was even born. That meant she'd never felt the loving presence of a father, the strong comfort he could provide in times of trouble.

But if she became my...

I shook my head vigorously at myself for the second time in as many days. What I was thinking? Rangers were male. Period. End of story. That was tradition. The way it had been for over 150 years now.

But still, I couldn't help wondering what could happen if someone changed all that.

And suddenly, Ashlynn's eyes flew open, glistening with tears.

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><p><em>~Ashlynn's POV~<em>

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><p>Rest flew from my sight as I was whirled into turbulent nightmare after nightmare. I saw bandits attacking my father and cornering him in the dark alleys; fire consuming the entire fief but for the hardiest of the castle stones, scattered like those in Morgarath's previous fief Gorlan; tens of thousands of warriors marching in rank-and-file, approaching our totally inadequate Battleschool trainees, with horses rearing in pain as arrows tore into their soft flesh; my mother, filled with immense pain as her sicknesses slowly overcame her strength.<p>

With a supreme effort, I tore myself away from my imagined sight of her withering and being blown away to dust by the wind. Managing to open my eyes, I realized they were wet with tears.

As my vision cleared, I realized both my mother and Gilan were standing over me, looking worriedly into my eyes.

I forced a weak grin. "Well, this is much better than what I was just seeing."

My mother laughed, a little forcedly. "That's my girl."

"I'm feeling much better now, really," I said.

And of course, just then, Robina had to enter the room again. "Why is she awake?" she shrieked. "Gilan, I told you to keep her settled down!"

"She opened her eyes herself!" Gilan protested.

I nodded. "He's right."

Robina's expression softened marginally. "Well, all right," she said reluctantly. "But now, she needs to rest. Shoo! Shoo!" she ordered, waving my mother and Gilan out of the room.

"Wait!" I cried. Everyone paused. "Please...let him stay," I whispered.

"Oh, all right," Robina said, sighing. "Now drink up."

I obediently downed another cup of the broth mixed with medicine, and as black closed in on my thoughts once more, I wondered why exactly I'd wanted Gilan (rather than Mother) to stay.

Maybe we were both seeking solace.

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><p>Another immensely long chapter. Don't worry, though; the next one will be even longer. :) Trust me. It's looooong.<p>

Now please, if you've read all the way down here, do click on that little button that says 'Review.'


	7. Break Away

Yes, this is the long chapter I promised everyone. By the way, many thanks to ME (XD funniest user ever), Music, and Raider. :) And to all my other reviewers. 22 of them already! Yay!

Oh yeah, since I sort of botched this in the previous six chapters, I'll put it here now:

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice or any of the characters created by John Flanagan. If only I could. Anyway, I _do_ own Ashlynn and any other OC's I have or will make during the course of this story. This disclaimer goes for the whole story. Including this chapter, those I've already published, and those to come.**

Yeah, it would _not_ be a good thing to write all 100 chapters and then have my story taken down by a mod. No, not good at all.

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><p><strong>Break Away<strong>

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><p><em>~Ashlynn's POV~<em>

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><p>A week later, I was almost completely healed. Only a rather pretty scar on my left side showed the ordeal I'd gone through for the past several days. And I was raring to go after all my inactivity.<p>

So I resolutely ignored Annaliese's unhelpful advice (statements such as: _"He caused you to get hurt in the first place!" _or, _"If I were you, I'd never go back there!"_) and returned to the woods, panting heavily as I finally reached Gilan's cabin. After all, I couldn't just stop working and hope that money would simply fall into my lap. And Gilan had been paying for Mother's medicine for over a week now. I had to make up for that.

The door opened and there he was, grinning as ever as he greeted me cheerfully.

"Ready for more chores?" he asked.

I normally would have replied with a sarcastic answer, such as, "Oh, please," but not today. Today I had far more important things to do.

"No, thank you," I said vehemently. "I'm ready to learn how to fight."

Gilan raised an eyebrow. I suppose he'd been expecting an acerbic reply as well.

"Rangers learn how to defend themselves, don't they?" I demanded, perhaps a little more harshly than I'd intended. "Well, I want to, too, so that what happened a week ago doesn't ever happen again. Sir, I _need_ to learn this!" I saw Gilan hesitate and added, "_Please._"

"But your wound could reopen!" he protested.

I shrugged. "Then we can just take it a little slower today. That's all right for now. But don't hold back once I'm completely healed. I need to learn, and learn well, and to do that, I need to learn from one of the best, without him going easy on me."

Because even though I still partly believed that the Rangers were sorcerers, I knew Gilan had been the apprentice of Halt, most renowned Ranger in the entire Kingdom and beyond...though his next pupil, Will Treaty, was beginning to have a reputation rivaling even that of his former teacher.

Gilan hesitated, then gave in to the inevitable. "Oh, all right."

I beamed at him. "Thank you so much, sir!"

"But God help me when Crowley and Halt hear about this," he said heavily.

"Who's Crowley?" I asked. "I mean, I know who Halt is; who doesn't? But...I haven't heard of Crowley."

"Commandant of the Ranger Corps," Gilan replied. "And a darned good one, at that."

"Does he not approve of girls?" I asked.

Gilan shrugged. "That issue's never really come up before. The unspoken rule, ever since King Herbert ordered the Corps to be founded more than 150 years ago, is that males, and _only_ males, are inducted into the Corps as apprentices."

I snorted. "That's ridiculous. Do people think that _every_ single girl is a shrinking violet?"

Gilan shrugged again. "I'm not exactly sure. However, I _do_ know that you wanted a certain lesson in self-defense?"

"Oh! Sorry," I said sheepishly.

Gilan shook his head in mock reproach. "I suppose the first thing we should work on is maintaining your focus."

"Oh, please, no," I said. "_Anything_ but that."

The Ranger cocked his head to one side, grinning evilly. "Does 'anything' include doing all those chores from a week ago over again?"

"No! No nononononononono!" I hurriedly reassured him on that matter.

Finally, he dropped his joking manner and adopted a far more serious attitude. "All right then. Let's see you attack me."

I wondered, very briefly, but still wondered, if he had gone off his rocker. I had been expecting a demonstration against a dummy or something like that. Not an outright fight.

"Er...sir?"

Gilan sighed in mock exasperation. "Are your ears cramped? I think they are. You know, I _do_ know what I'm doing here. Now GET ON WITH IT!"

Galvanized into action, I threw in several quick punches—all of which Gilan dodged very neatly—and then darted back as Gilan went on the attack himself. Crosses, hooks, and other complicated moves I didn't know and certainly didn't _want_ to know the names of.

As I continued playing a defensive game, darting away from his blows, my eyes narrowed as I tried to determine a potential weak spot in his attack. He was taller than me, but surprisingly not by that much; I was extremely tall, both for my age and for my gender. Not only that, but I had an extremely deep voice for a girl; if I'd cut my hair short and concealed my body with a Ranger's cloak, I bet most people would assume I was a boy.

_All to the better if Halt and Crowley don't like the idea of a girl being taught a Ranger's skills,_ I thought as I suddenly slid to the ground and scythed my legs in a sweeping motion toward Gilan. I very nearly caught him, but his agility and speed gave him the advantage in this battle.

Only problem with the move I'd made, when you missed, it left you defenseless while you tried to scramble hurriedly to your feet.

Instantly, Gilan mimed an uppercut to my jaw that would have knocked me out cold. He raised his eyebrows at me, making sure I understood the unspoken message, and I nodded.

"I liked that leg-sweeping move," he said calmly, "but, as I'm sure you already noticed, it took you far too long to recover. However, your speed when dodging away from my attack was admirable."

Before I could feel too proud of myself, Gilan added, "But not Ranger standard. Let's keep practicing."

And so we worked on unarmed combat for nearly the rest of the day, though we did take short breaks every now and then. As the sun descended toward the nearby hills again, we walked through the fief, making my necessary purchases, and its dark alleyways, which were ominous after the recent events I'd been a part of, until we were in front of my house. Obviously, Gilan wasn't taking any precautions as to the criminal activity here.

Just before I was going to bid him farewell, he leaned casually on his longbow and asked, "How much daylight would you say is left, Ashlynn?"

I squinted at the red ball of flame that was the sun. I'd never had any sort of training in this kind of question, but I'd used the rising and setting of the sun before, when I was a thief, in determining when to take a chance for more money and when to head back home.

"Half-an-hour," I said quietly.

He nodded. "Give or take a few minutes, yes. Now run along, and tomorrow I expect to see you at my cabin at six o'clock sharp." We shared our twentieth grin that day, then I jogged lightly down the alleyway to the door of my house. As I opened it, I turned back and waved. Then I entered the house and closed the door.

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><p><em>~Gilan's POV~<em>

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><p>I hurried back through the fief to my cabin, where I hurriedly grabbed my things and whistled for Blaze. She came trotting over to the verandah, looking inquiringly at me. I rubbed her nose affectionately and said, "Just have to talk to Halt about something."<p>

Blaze rolled an eye at me. _As if I can't tell what it's going to be about._

I laughed. "I will never get the last word with you, will I?"

_Nope._

"All right then. Go on, girl," I said softly, urging her to a pace slightly faster than the normal lope. Blaze turned her head, wondering at the reason for this increased speed. I patted her mane and said, "I've got to ride hard and fast if I want to make it there and back in time to actually sleep."

She tossed her head. _All right. Tell me if you want me to go any faster._

So I traveled through the night to Redmont Castle.

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><p>As I stepped onto the verandah of Will Treaty's cabin, I raised my hand to the door and hesitated before I knocked. Sure enough, a light came on and the door opened to reveal one of my closest friends, hair surprisingly not tousled from sleep.<p>

"Gilan," he said without any tone of surprise in his voice. "What brings you here this late at night?"

"This feels so familiar somehow," I remarked innocently, and he smiled tiredly.

"Déjà vu does happen quite often, doesn't it? Now tell me why the devil you're here, or I'll shut you out and get back to my paperwork."

I hesitated. Should I tell him, or shouldn't I? After all, he looked pretty tired. Then, when I saw the impatient expression on his face, I relented and said, "I'm thinking about getting an apprentice. And...she's not an ordinary girl."

"_She?_" Will asked, frowning. "No wonder you came here. Well, if you want support, I'll gladly lend it, but I doubt we'll be able to convince Halt of the potential of females in the Corps."

I gaped at him, open-mouthed. "How did you know..."

"That you wanted to see Halt?" Will asked. Then he shrugged. "Well, it's not exactly a Scotti invasion, is it? I'm way younger and less experienced than you, so you can't _really_ be asking for my opinion; you'll only be wanting my support, especially because I have such a close relationship with our former master. And my former master is also in this very fief, and he would probably be quite unhappy if you woke him up, but wouldn't be as ticked off if I came with you. Simple," he finished, shrugging again.

I shook my head in amazement. "Let's go, then."

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><p>"Are you crazy?" Halt practically shouted at me.<p>

"Shh, dear," Lady Pauline said gently. "The neighbors are sleeping."

Accordingly, Halt dropped his volume level down to the merest whisper, but with no less vehemence than his previous statement.

"Gilan, I don't what's gotten into you. First you pay the girl, a former _thief_, to do your chores for you; next, you rescue her from those bandits and _pay for her mother's medicine for a full week_, and finally, you begin to teach her some of the Ranger secrets! What am I going to say to Crowley?" he asked, throwing his hands up into the air. "No, actually, what are _you_ going to say to Crowley? I'm taking _no_ responsibility in this matter. Whatever happens, it's your own fault," he said harshly.

Now my own blood was boiling, and as I took a pace forward, Will laid a warning hand on my arm. "Dear me, _sir_ Halt," I hissed back at my former mentor, "you seem to forget that this girl's elder sister was as lazy as a sloth, her father had died before she was even born, and her mother was always lying sick in bed! Not only that, but I should have been watching over the girl, but let myself get distracted by _another_ bandit ring while she was being attacked by that first group. I paid for her mother's medicine while the girl recovered as retribution for my mistake. And she herself asked me to teach her! She's eager and quick to learn, and quite _accepting_ of others once you get to know her, unlike _someone_ here in front of me!"

There was an ugly silence in the room, made all the uglier because of the years we'd spent in the respectful master-apprentice relationship.

Will cleared his throat uncomfortably. Pauline, as ever, was the one to promote diplomacy as she said calmly, "Perhaps, Halt, you could give us any further reasons you have for not letting the girl become a Ranger apprentice?"

Halt scowled fiercely, but at me, I noticed, and definitely not at Pauline. "The Ranger Corps is all about our own tradition in our own tight-knit group. This girl you're considering as an apprentice is just that: a _girl_. And bringing a girl into the Corps will destroy all our tradition."

"So everyone has to do everything _exactly_ the same as their ancestors, day after week after month after year," I said sarcastically before Pauline could stop me. "Oh yes, that's _definitely_ how a kingdom _grows_."

Halt's face darkened considerably, but for once I wasn't afraid of what he would do. "If you're too long in the tooth to even _consider_ change, then I think it's time we both took a break from each other for a _long_ while. And I, unlike you, am going to _embrace_ change. It's time to break away from tradition, at least a little bit," I spat at him.

Then I stormed out of Halt's suite of rooms, fists clenched and anger still blazing in a white-hot fury as I jerked Blaze's reins to get her moving.

"Get out of my way," I snarled at the guards as they moved to block my exit. Noticing the camouflage cloak, my bristling quiver of arrows, and my highly unpleasant manner, they hurriedly retreated.

I didn't even look back as I heard Will calling to me, but I did stop Blaze with a check of my reins.

"Listen, Gil," Will said quietly. "Halt was already grumpy because we woke him up in the middle of the night. And his mind wasn't thinking quite clearly when you first told him about the girl. Me, I'm all for you taking her under your wing. Just...wanted to let you know," he finished awkwardly, shrugging slightly.

I nodded tightly. "Thanks, Will. I should be getting back now. And you should go to sleep. I'm sorry for keeping you so long."

"Not a problem." Will hesitated, then continued, "Is it all right if I see the girl for myself?"

Again, I nodded. "When?"

"Tomorrow," he replied promptly.

"All right," I said, shrugging. "We'll see how long it takes her to sense your presence."

"Agreed," Will replied, smiling.

I nodded grimly back, then waved a hand in farewell as I set Blaze first to a canter, then a gallop toward Whitby.

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><p>What's this? Gilan and Halt <em>had a fight? <em>Dear me! That's not good, is it?

And it will take them a looooooong time to reconcile. I will tell you guys that right now. I was going to have Halt come with Will so that he could apologize to Gil, but then I was like, Nah. Some other *slight* problems will resurface in their relationship. Such as, Gilan's jealousy at Will's relationship with Halt. Oh dear.

Now please do review. I wrote 2,844 stinking words before this for _your_ benefit, you know. XD


	8. Heaven

29 reviews! YES! Many thanks to Dodo, Shadow, Music, Raider, and Shinee. XD I love these nicknames. Oh, and also to 'anonymous'...wait, I think that was Shinee...anyway, thanks again to everyone who reviewed! You all are so encouraging! :D

...If only we could get the lurker people to do the same. *Frowns* Yes, I'm talking about _you_, those people who click on my story and read the chapters all the way through and DON'T BOTHER TO REVIEW. There's a reason why I check my Traffic Stats.

Hmmph. Anyway. Hope everyone enjoys!

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><p><strong>Heaven<strong>

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><p><em>~Ashlynn's POV~<em>

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><p>I entered the small clearing Gilan's cabin was located in and hesitated. No welcoming curl of smoke greeted me from the chimney. The shutters were drawn tight and shut over the windows. No lights were on, though it was still relatively dark outside.<p>

_Did something happen?_ I wondered, hesitantly walking up to the verandah and glancing around for any sign of human activity. As I was about to knock on the door, the hairs on the back of my neck rose and I instantly froze where I was.

Someone was watching me.

I didn't know who, or where. But that crawling, itching sensation underneath my skin always meant that hostile or unacquainted eyes were there, watching, waiting.

That sixth sense of mine had kept me alive countless times before, when I was a thief. Now, hopefully, it was going to keep me alive again.

As I knocked loudly on the door three times and called Gilan's name, my left hand slipped unobtrusively to a hidden dagger sheath on my trousers. A good thief always carried a hidden weapon in reserve, in case of unexpected trouble.

If only I'd had the presence of mind to wear these trousers the night I'd been attacked.

Now I pretended to yawn and scrunched up my eyes to avoid suspicion as I tipped my head back and stretched. It seemed like I was bored, but my eyes were really searching desperately back and forth for any sign of movement. Then I saw it.

Quick as a flash, I'd unsheathed my knife and whirled it into the tree trunk next to the rustling bushes. Actually, I'd only been hoping to get a good stick, since my knife-throwing skills were quite rusty. But when the knife stuck in the bole of the tree, it made me look a lot better than I was.

"I'd like to see you out in the open, thank you very much," I said coldly, then gasped as the "intruder" slowly stood up.

It was a Ranger.

_Oh God, what have I gotten myself into? _I asked myself as I slowly edged away from the grim-faced Ranger.

And then I bumped into the door behind my back, which suddenly opened inward as someone opened it from behind.

I half-turned and silently swore as I realized who it was.

Gilan.

This day was just getting better and better, I reflected gloomily as I awaited my punishment.

The silence in the clearing was getting almost unbearable. The air was oppressive and heavy, and I was sure I would suffocate, when...

Gilan started chuckling. I whirled around to look at him, surprised and more than a little offended at his lack of regard, but then the other Ranger began to snort and laugh as well. In no time, the two of them, normally the grim, well-respected protectors of the Kingdom, were chortling and giggling in a most highly unwarrior-like fashion, shoulders shaking as they tried...and failed...to restrain their laughter. In fact, I even saw tears streaming down Gilan's face, which he hurriedly wiped away once he saw me staring.

Then the other Ranger flipped down his cowl, and I jerked back in surprise.

Will Treaty.

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><p><em>~Will's POV~<em>

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><p>I have to admit, the girl's skill with that knife of hers had scared me for a moment there. I mean, she wouldn't have pinpointed my location if I hadn't purposely rustled the bushes a little, but still, no harm in letting her believe that her own skill had helped her in this instance.<p>

Then she came up to me and asked, "Sir, why exactly did you rustle the bushes? It was as if..." And slowly, realization dawned in her eyes and she said accusingly, "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

Instead of answering her question directly, I turned to Gilan and shook my head mock reproachfully. "What's this, Gil? You still have her call you 'sir,' huh? Well, looks as if you've broken Corps tradition in more ways than one."

Gilan grinned. "Remember, Will, she's been working for me as a kind of servant for the past several days."

The girl huffed in mock annoyance. "I'm just a mere servant? Seriously, sir, I expected better than that."

"Hey, don't call him 'sir,'" I cut Gilan off just as he opened his mouth to reply in kind. "If you two are going to be master and apprentice—which Crowley says is totally acceptable—then you'll have to get used to calling each other informal names. For instance, you, er..."

"Ashlynn," she said cheerfully, grinning dazzingly at Gilan after hearing his quiet reply to her jibe.

I blinked. I'd seen her go from one of the most dangerous young people I'd ever met to a happy, giggling teenager. Whoa.

"Well, er, Ashlynn...ahem, anyway, you shouldn't call Gilan 'sir' anymore," I said loftily, assuming a wise, all-knowing expression.

She looked quite puzzled now. "Then...what should I call him, sir?"

I sighed. "Don't call _me_ 'sir,' either."

"Yes, sir! Sorry, sir!" she cried, almost mechanically, and then, realizing her mistake, tried hurriedly to cover up. "Er, I mean, uh..."

"You can just call him Will," Gilan put in helpfully. "Though he does answer to the names William, Willy, Willers, and many other embarrassing nicknames. Oh, I could list fifty of them off the top of my head..."

"Gilan," I growled dangerously. Wisely, the other Ranger said nothing more. Now satisfied that my honor had been restored, I turned back to Ashlynn. "As I was going to say earlier, you _could_ call him all sorts of informal nicknames, of course. 'Spindle-shaked bag of bones' is one of them. Or," I continued cheerfully, enjoying the open-mouthed look on Ashlynn's face and the beet-red expression on Gilan's face, "you could make up your own rather unflattering name. However, since you're going to be his apprentice, and consequently, he'll be your master, I would stick to either Gilan or Gil."

Ashlynn glanced uncertainly at her new master, who nodded in approval of the last two names I had suggested,

"All right then...Will," she said cautiously, as if the words would return and nip her in the leg for her "informality."

I smiled reassuringly at her. "Now go off and do whatever chores Gilan's assigned you." I grinned as Gilan rattled off the list from memory, though I did notice that the girl didn't complain further than a sigh.

As soon as she was out of earshot, my expression grew serious. "You told us last night that she knew how to work. This proves it."

Gilan nodded vigorously. "She's very eager to please. In fact, her mother told me that she focuses too much on being near-perfect, rather than simply getting the work done."

"You also said that her elder sister was so lazy she was comparable to a sloth," I reminded him.

He nodded. "True." And then a worried look came over his face, and he asked, "Why did you say that Crowley approved of it? We can't say for sure that he does, especially since you wouldn't have had any time at all to consult him about it. After all, considering...your former master's reaction last night..." Gilan trailed off awkwardly, and I nodded my understanding, also noting that he'd narrowly avoided saying Halt's name.

Gilan sighed. "I'm sorry. What I said last night was uncalled for."

* * *

><p><em>~Gilan's POV~<em>

* * *

><p>There was an awkward silence in the clearing, with neither Will nor I particularly willing to break it. After several moments, Will took a deep breath and called, loud and clear, "Ashlynn! Drop whatever you're doing for now, and come re-join us in the clearing."<p>

"Is that an order?" came the faint reply.

"Yes!" Will shouted back, grinning.

Ashlynn trudged into the clearing and fixed Will with a reproachful stare, saying, "And I was just about to finish chopping the firewood."

Will shrugged. "Accept my sincerest apologies, then."

She continued to glare at Will, however, causing him to shift uncomfortably. That's when the grins on her face and mine finally showed through.

As she opened her mouth again, I threw in a sudden punch toward her. However, it wasn't aimed to hit her; it was aimed to both shock her from her humor and see if she was paying attention.

Was I in for a surprise that day.

Because as I lunged and thrust my fist in front of her, she half-turned away from my blow and grabbed my wrist with an iron grip. Caught off balance, I stumbled slightly, and then suddenly felt my stomach drop as I was flipped into the grass. Slowly, I rose to my feet and looked around at the others. Will was very obviously hiding a grin. Ashlynn herself was flushed deep to the roots of her braided brown hair.

"I'm so sorry, sir," she said frantically, dusting the grass off my trousers. "I thought-"

"And there you go with the 'sir' again," I gently reminded her.

She blushed an even deeper red—if that were even possible—and whispered, "I'm sorry, Gilan. Are you all right?"

I shook my head slowly. Her spirit seemed to crumple slowly before my eyes, but then I said, "Am I all right? Am _I _all right?" And now I was grinning. "By golly, that was the best unarmed fight I've ever seen you put up! That was even better than that time with the jeweler."

Slowly, she grinned back at me, and then Will burst into laughter.

"I can just see you guys teasing each other relentlessly, day after day, hour after hour, a year from now."

Ashlynn snorted. "Yeah right. I'm not that kind of person."

I tipped my head to one side, considering the notion for a moment. Actually, what Will had said made a lot of sense. Accordingly, I told Ashlynn so, saying, "Oh, I don't know that that's so impossible."

"All right," Will said briskly, "now that I've assessed your suitability as an apprentice, I think it's time you had some silent movement training."

Ashlynn grew wide-eyed. Then she turned to me, whispering, "_I_ get to train with the renowned Ranger _Will Treaty_?" Then she grinned. "I feel like I've gone to Heaven for a day."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Get on with it," I said, jerking a thumb toward Will. Then I grinned back. Will was going to give her quite some time...

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><p>And we end on that cliffie! 8D And now, some guest appearances from the characters!<p>

**Ashlynn: **You'd better review. Like, _now._

**Will: **Of course, Ashlynn _could_ just throw her knives at your retreating backs while I turn you into pincushions.

**Gilan: **Hey, don't forget about me! I'll turn you into pincushions with Will!

**Will: **Um...thanks?

Now what are you waiting for? Review! :D


	9. Innocence

**Innocence**

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><p><em>~Ashlynn's POV~<em>

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><p>Will was a nice guy, and he wasn't at all acerbic or unpleasant. He had a patient, thorough way of teaching things. However, I was pretty sure even he was getting impatient at my constant stumbles and muttered curses whenever I knew I'd made a mistake.<p>

Because even though I had been a thief and knew how to walk quietly, that had been in the streets of the village, where everyone was shouting and clapping and haggling and such. I'd only tried once to steal something after sunset.

And failed miserably.

Anyway, whenever there weren't any leaves or twigs or broken branches or _anything_ other than grass on the forest floor, _then_ I could walk silently.

But not when all those obstacles were present, demanding my attention with every step I took, crowding in and over each other, shouting their rights as foremost obstacles.

Will sighed. "All right, then. Here's what we'll do. Try-"

Just then, a resounding _crack_ filled the forest, and both of us looked up to see Gilan standing there, arms folded, an impatient look crossing his face.

"Bandits on the border of Redmont and Whitby," he said tightly. "More than fifty of them, all told, and terrorizing the travelers on that road. Still, just the two of us should be enough to take care of it."

Will nodded, his expression grave. "Let's go, then."

"Wait!" I couldn't believe I'd even dared to speak, especially because both Rangers turned disapproving glances on me. But I couldn't bear the thought of being left out. "What...what am I going to do?"

"Stay here," Will replied shortly, briefly adjusting his quiver of arrows to a more convenient position. "And _don't_ try to follow us. We'll have to ride hard and fast to prevent any more deaths; you'll only slow us down if you come along, especially because you don't have your own horse yet."

I opened my mouth again, ready to protest, but a single glance from Gilan stopped me.

"I appreciate your offer, Ashlynn, but now really isn't the time. Will's right; if you came, you'd only slow us down. Stay here, keep an eye on things, and do your best to finish your chores." Then both Gilan and Will whistled, their horses came trotting up, and the Rangers swung easily into their saddles, flipping their cloak cowls over their heads.

Gilan looked back as he set Blaze to a canter. "I'll be back in three hours!" he shouted, and then the two Rangers and their horses disappeared into the thinning woods, setting off to the south.

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><p><em>~Gilan's POV~<em>

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><p>"Good thing we convinced her to stay behind," Will muttered as we progressed south through the fief.<p>

I nodded, grimly for once. "I thought it best for her to actually retain her innocence for a little while longer."

Will's return nod was almost imperceptible, hidden as it was by his cloak hood, but I spotted it easily.

"That's what I thought with my apprentice, too," he replied grimly. "Which is why I left him behind this morning."

"You have an _apprentice_?" I asked, amazed.

Will flashed a quick grin at me. "His name's Peder, and he's a pretty hard worker, though he does get bored with the geography and such." He smiled again. "Just like me when I was learning."

I shook my head in wonder. "I was wondering why I'd heard _two_ return whinnies last night."

And then, suddenly, Will's expression changed from light-hearted to grave.

"Looks as if that's the place," he said grimly, pointing half-a-kilometer away toward the massive group of bandits surrounding the fallen carriage.

"Sounds like it, too," I replied, hearing the screams and shouts even from this distance. They were faint, but definitely present.

"All right," Will said, reining in. I followed suit, listening attentively as he continued, "We'll split up and come at them from two different directions. Make sure to keep moving, though, so that they don't pinpoint your position. And also, don't-"

"I have done this sort of thing before, you know," I interrupted him mildly, raising an eyebrow in that oh-so-familiar expression.

He grinned sheepishly in reply. "Sorry. Still in teaching mode, I guess."

I nodded understandingly, though I couldn't repress that small moment of jealousy that had gripped me when he'd begun the directions and orders. Though I was his senior in terms of years being a full-fledged Ranger, it was obvious who was more experienced in the actual field events.

Of course, that experience was from Will's position on the Special Task Force Crowley had formed almost a year ago. But that didn't mean I had to like it.

In fact, he was starting to sound like Halt in the way he gave orders and directives. It was getting on my nerves, how close of a relationship they shared.

And that I lacked.

I returned to reality when I heard Will's worried voice break into my thoughts: "Gil? You all right?"

I forced a smile, a thin parody of my normal one, and nodded, saying, "I'm fine. Keep going."

"If you say so," Will replied doubtfully. Then he continued, "Our bows will work well enough once we get a little closer, but I'm thinking we should leave the horses behind. Their drumming hooves will definitely alert the bandits to our presence."

I cocked my head to one side. "Which could frighten them into submission," I pointed out, but he shook his head. "They'll be cowed, but not totally frightened. After all, they have a pretty large group. Which means we have to use stealth and trickery to mask our presence until there's only a handful of them left."

I shrugged. It had only been an idea, after all. "All right then. Whatever you say."


	10. Drive

OK, something really weird happened to my A/N's last chapter, so here I will bring you guys up to date. Raider, Music, Shadow, Dodo, Shinee, and Arabella, thank you all SO much for you reviews! I hold them dear to my heart...

*Ahem* Anyway...Arabella, I'll do my best to fit your idea in to whatever chapter I write involving Gil and Ash visiting Crowley.

And now, I present to you the next chapter! :D

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><p><strong>Drive<strong>

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><p><em>~Ashlynn's POV~<em>

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><p><em>I want to follow them.<em>

I stared moodily at the ground in front of me and poked a nearby rock with a long stick. I hated feeling this useless, this bored, waiting for my mentor to come back. He'd said they'd be back in three hours, right?

But Castle Whitby was less than ten kilometers from the border.

I shrugged. Whatever he said, he knew best, I suppose.

And then suddenly a thought struck me. I dropped the stick and exclaimed, "I _can_ get a horse and follow them!" After all, the castle stables were not half-a-kilometer away from the woods; besides, I was sure I could rent out one of the horses for only a couple of hours without too much trouble. And I still had a very shiny royal left over from my wages.

That decision made, I practiced throwing my knife into tree trunks and other potent obstacles on the way to the stables. Gradually, my old skill began to return, but I couldn't help remembering how smooth and controlled my throws had been when one of the boys from the Ward had taught me and many others how to use daggers.

Jon, everyone had called him.

I'd been the best student in the "class" and had been looking forward to learning more, but then my mother had come down with all her sicknesses. The dagger-throwing and many other tomboyish actions had stopped. The work and stealing had begun. And I haven't seen him since.

I sighed and hid the dagger in my pocket again as I approached the stables.

As I came closer to the rustic building, a boy not much older than me came running out to greet me.

"Good afternoon, miss," he said as he ushered me into the dark interior of the stables. "Did you want to use one of our horses?"

"Yes, please," I answered politely. "I'd like to rent one of them out for about two hours."

The boy nodded agreeably. "All right, miss, that'll be half a royal."

I couldn't believe my luck. Only _half_ of one? I hadn't hoped for this. So I paid my royal, pocketed the change, and then chose a fine gelding mare named Strider. I'd stopped in front of her stall and immediately knew that she was the one.

_Interesting name, _I thought to myself, though I didn't voice aloud what I was thinking.

"She takes long strides, miss," the young groom warned me. "And she can get a bit unpredictable at times."

Obviously, he was doing his best to discourage me from my choice. But my mind was made up, and I replied, "Well, I've been known to be like that as well." I grinned quickly at him so that he wouldn't take my words as harsh, then mounted the mare—geez, she was tall—and set her moving south at an easy canter.

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><p><em>~Gilan's POV~<em>

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><p>Picking off the bandits was delightfully easy with Will and I working together to finish them off. They even began to bunch together by the time we'd let loose five arrows each.<p>

However, several of the more quick-witted—and infinitely more dangerous—began to circle around us, flanking us and cutting us off from their comrades. I swore under my breath as I realized that I was surrounded by at least seven criminals standing in a semi-circle and baying for blood, and that my escape path was blocked by the trees. I threw my bow to one side, followed quickly by my quiver of arrows; whatever happened next, I wouldn't be needing them. From now on, I would be in a close-quarters battle. Grimly unsheathing my sword, I smiled at the oncoming bandits.

They hesitated for only the slightest of seconds, perhaps sensing that it would be very unwise to continue, but that was enough for me. Quickly, I lunged toward the nearest bandit, who backed away from my darting blade, and then I straightened up and threw in a whirlwind of forehands, backhands, overheads, and side cuts as the criminal parried desperately with his totally inadequate dagger.

He received a brief respite, however, as I turned to push back the other bandits who had been trying to sneak up on me while my attention was distracted. I smiled again and cut them back easily, sending many a criminal staggering away in pain.

And then suddenly, I heard a strange _hiss-thock_ sound and whirled around to see what it was.

The first bandit I'd attacked—apparently the leader of the criminals that had tried to cut me off from their comrades—was fastened to a nearby tree by a quivering dagger dangerously close to his neck.

I turned back to look, though I already knew who it was, and my guess was confirmed by the sight of a tall girl with braided brown hair eagerly parrying one of the bandits' clumsy attacks with yet another dagger.

"Ashlynn! What the devil are you doing here?" I shouted as I distracted a third bandit from my apprentice. So she had followed. Of course she had. Will had told me not to be too surprised if she showed up. And I myself had known, somehow, that she would not be content with sitting around the cabin for three hours, waiting for us to come back.

That didn't mean I had to be incredibly happy about it, though.

"What does it look like?" she replied before quickly jumping back from a swing of the club. Expecting to meet resistance from her dagger, the bandit stumbled and caught himself before he fell, but Ashlynn had already taken advantage of his momentary distraction to knock the club from his hands.

Meanwhile, I'd taken care of the rest of the bandits surrounding us, and now, seeing Ashlynn hesitate, I quickly stepped in and brought my sword pommel down on the bandit's head. Slowly, he toppled down to the ground in a heap, unconscious.

Then Ashlynn and I turned our attentions back toward the leading bandit that had attacked.

He had been trying to free himself by desperately tugging on the dagger that held him in place to the tree, but again I swung down my pommel, and again a criminal's eyes glazed over, then went completely devoid of expression.

After I tied up our many prisoners, leaving them stuck to the trees nearby, I produced thumb and ankle cuffs and restrained the leader, then headed over to where Will was standing, grimly surveying the aftermath of the battle—if you could call it that.

"I see she came," he remarked evenly, jerking a thumb to where Ashlynn was carefully removing her first thrown dagger from the tree trunk.

I nodded. "You were right."

Will raised an eyebrow as he heard my words. "Am I ever not?" he asked, completely straight-faced.

I didn't bother to reply directly to his question, like I normally would have. Instead, I said, "She must have taken a horse. There's no other way she could have come so quickly."

"And then," Will continued, "she must have spotted our horses and decided to leave her borrowed horse back with them."

"Borrowed," I asked, "or stolen?"

"Well, why don't we ask her?" Will replied, gesturing toward Ashlynn, walking toward us.

"She sure has drive, that's for sure," I muttered. "But the question is, does she use it for good or evil?"

Then, as she came within earshot, I said, "Ashlynn, you borrowed a horse from the castle stables." It was not a question. It was a statement of truth.

She nodded.

Now, very deliberately, I asked, "Did you pay for the horse, or did you take him without asking?"

"It's a _her_," Ashlynn replied instantly. Then she continued, "I paid for the horse. Half a royal for two hours, so I paid the stable boy with my royal leftover from my wages. Now I have half a royal left in change." To prove her point, she brought out her shiny silver piece, glinting in the late afternoon sunlight.

"Hmm," I muttered, still a little skeptically. "If you say so."

There was an awkward silence in the clearing for several seconds, which Ashlynn broke by asking, "What are we going to do with the bandits now?"

"Bring them back to the Baron to see justice done," Will replied shortly. He cocked his head to the side. "But to which Baron?"

"Ah," I said slowly.

"To Baron Fendrel," Ashlynn replied confidently. As both Will and I turned inquiring looks toward her, she explained, "Will Treaty has huge renown in the Kingdom. Repelling a bandit attack won't do that much more to further his reputation. Besides, Gilan was the one who first heard about the bandits."

I shrugged. "All right. If that's fine with you, Will?"

He nodded, smiling. "She's right. I'm much too famous for my own good already."

I shrugged again, as if it was no big deal, but inside, a huge glow of happiness was spreading through me at the fact that my apprentice had chosen _me_ over the famous, renowned Will Treaty.

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><p>Yay, Gilan! :) We're so proud of you. Oh, by the way, everyone, it's the first day of JulNoWriMo today. Am I ready? Are <em>you<em> ready? 50,000 words in 31 days...unfortunately, I'll actually only have about 19 days to finish because of all the camps that HAVE to be scheduled in July! Grr...

Anyway, review. Or WoD (Write Or Die) will come after you and force you to hammer the keys for a full 24 hours.


	11. Breathe Again

Whoa! 53 reviews! You guys have all made my day! :D Thanks again to Dodo, Shadow, Raider, Shinee, Music, Pixie, Marauder, and especially Theodore Helena Miller! Holy crap...I think she reviewed nine times, or every chapter other than my author's note.

Hope I didn't miss anyone...ahem. Anyway.

Thanks again for everything, guys. Hope you enjoy!

PS: Arabella and Marauder, didn't quite get to Crowley in this chapter. It'll happen soon, I promise. And there will definitely be other conflict...maybe not quite yet, but soon...soon...

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><p><strong>Breathe Again<strong>

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><p><em>~Ashlynn's POV~<em>

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><p>Gilan was dragging me through the woods, taking his usual long strides and whistling cheerfully, as ever, in the fresh summer air.<p>

Correction. He wasn't really dragging me. Actually, he was walking ahead of me, while I dragged my own feet.

We'd been walking ever since the crack of dawn, and six hours later, we _still_ hadn't gotten to our destination—wherever it was. Oh, we'd stopped briefly for lunch, but that was the only respite we'd gotten from the constant walking. In fact, I was pretty sure we'd passed the fief's boundaries by now. But no complaint passed my lips—I didn't want Gilan accusing me of being whiny. I didn't even want to put myself down because of that trait, either.

And then, _finally_, we came to several small buildings huddled together in the forest.

I was burning with questions, but somehow, I knew Gilan wouldn't answer them. Not yet. He flashed a quick grin at me, as if sensing my thoughts, then led the way to the biggest of the haphazardly-built cabins.

"Good afternoon, Old Bob!" Gilan shouted cheerfully.

I shook my head. A joke now and then was all right. But constant grinning was sure to stretch my cheeks even more. They were already sore after only two-and-a-half weeks' company with the Ranger.

In that time, I'd been issued my very own bow—though Gilan said it was a recurve bow, not like the massive longbow he and Will and Halt carried— and quiver of precisely twenty-four arrows, as well as the two specially-made Ranger knives. The throwing knife I'd instantly been comfortable with; I was pretty good at throwing the saxe, but my cuts and blocks were still a little clumsy. I guess I just wasn't used to heavy-bladed knives.

Gilan had also showed me his strikers, but he'd said they weren't issued to apprentices until their third year. I was fine with that rule; I had enough to work on.

Now an old man, hunchbacked and very unkempt, appeared from behind the lean-to shed. His beard was long and a tainted white, as it was matted and dirty. However, his eyes were keen and bright.

"Afternoon, Ranger! And who's this here, trudging along behind you?"

"This is my apprentice, Ashlynn," Gilan introduced me. "Ashlynn, this is Old Bob."

"Good afternoon, sir," I said cautiously. And then I mentally smacked myself. There I'd gone with the 'sir' again. "And to you, too," I said, turning to the rustling bushes.

Out came a grinning young man, eighteen years of age at most.

"So you have an apprentice too, Old Bob?" Gilan asked. "Well, you learn something new every day."

"In my case, that's no exaggeration," the boy said ruefully, prompting all of us to laugh. "I'm Jared, by the way." He stuck out his hand toward Gilan, who shook it long and hard. When he finally let go, Jared winced and shook his hand vigorously several times.

"Do you always crush people's hands in that grip of yours, sir?" he asked, grinning.

Gilan threw his head back and laughed. "You should be glad I'm not a Skandian, Jared. And by the way, my name's Gilan."

"That's assuming that any Skandian could use a sword like yours without breaking it," I pointed out, jumping into the conversation and tired of not being included.

Gilan grinned at me now. "Well said, Ash. Now why don't you two shake hands and we'll see how you turn out."

The two of us simultaneously turned toward Gilan accusingly, Jared cocking his head to one side while I put my hands on my hips.

Gilan sighed in mock disappointment. "Oh, all right. Make it quick and easy, then." And then he turned away and muttered under his breath, "Party poopers."

"I heard that, _Sir_ Gilan!" I said mock reproachfully. "Now get back over here and apologize."

Jared's eyes widened slightly. "Wow. You two...have a very, um..."

"Informal relationship, yes, I know," I finished for him. "Now let's get on with the handshake so I can find out why the devil I'm here."

So we shook hands very quickly, and then I turned back to Gilan, who was grinning yet again, no doubt with some hidden knowledge of what was going to happen soon.

"What?" I asked suspiciously. And now Jared _and_ Old Bob were grinning, and my senses were heightened to 'Panic' state.

"What the heck is going on here? Why are the three of you grinning at me like that?" I demanded heatedly.

Gilan waved my questions away languidly. "Oh, you'll see," he said, just managing to stay straight-faced, though I did notice that the corners of his mouth were still slightly upturned.

"All right," I said slowly, still very suspicious of their motives.

"Right this way, Miss Ashlynn," Old Bob wheezed, leading the way toward the lean-to. There, he let out an ear-bursting whistle that caused everyone, even Gilan, to wince.

"Here they come!" Jared cried, pointing.

I followed his finger. My breath caught in my throat as I saw no less than ten small horses trotting our way. I'd loved horses ever since I was born, being a farm girl and all, but we'd had to sell our fine breed to make money so that we wouldn't starve. We being my mother and I.

However, they were all miniature in size and stature, especially when I mentally compared them to both the battlehorses the knights rode and the gelding mare I'd borrowed from the castle stables a week ago.

Not to mention shaggy and ungroomed in the extreme.

Old Bob frowned now and turned to Jared. "I thought I told you to groom their coats, Jared."

Jared shrugged uncomfortably. "And I thought you told me to...oh, never mind."

I regarded him curiously. Did that mean Jared had purposely slacked off? Or was something else going on?

Well, whatever it was, it wasn't really my business. So I turned my attention back to the ten horses—all ponies, I could now see—and walked down the line they'd automatically formed, looking all of them over. For a moment, I was reminded of Whitby's Battlemaster—Sir Keith—inspecting all the Battleschool apprentices in one of their drills.

I paused at the last one. A mare—a bay mare, in fact, very similar to Gilan's own horse, Blaze.

This one was the one. I could feel it.

And apparently, she could feel it, too, because she tossed her head and pranced forward a little, breaking up the line the ten ponies had formed. Instantly, the other nine turned away to graze on the lush grass growing in the paddock they'd come from. Jared closed the gate behind them.

"Interesting," Old Bob murmured from behind me. "Jared, did you teach them that?"

"Indeed I did," he replied, grinning.

Half-turning, I saw Gilan, standing to one side, suddenly frown. I caught his eye and gave him a questioning look, but he shook his head quickly. Shrugging, I turned back toward the bay mare and patted her nose, soft as velvet.

She was slightly taller than the rest of the ponies that had come trotting over and a fine dark chestnut brown. Her dark eyes were inquisitive and intelligent, constantly roaming around our surroundings and pausing on me, then darting back around the nearby woods.

"Well," Gilan said, "what do you think?"

I turned and smiled. "She's perfect. What's her name?" This last question was directed at Old Bob, but it was Jared who answered.

"Mariah," he said softly. "After my mother."

"Ah. I see," I said cautiously, wondering what else to say. It was obvious that his mother was long gone.

There was a contemplative silence—surprisingly not too awkward—in the little clearing we were in, which Gilan broke after a decent interval of time by clearing his throat and saying, "All right, Ashlynn. Let's see you ride her."

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><p><em>~Gilan's POV~<em>

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><p>Oh, was I looking forward to this. The ultimate embarrassment of a lifetime. And in front of her mentor, the Ranger horse trainer, <em>and<em> another boy, too!

But then Ashlynn shot me another suspicious glance and said, "Why don't _you_ ride her?"

"If she can do it, you can do it!" Jared put in helpfully.

I glared at him. "Be quiet." Then I turned back to my very unwilling apprentice and said, unable to keep from grinning wickedly, "Ladies first."

She raised an eyebrow at me—that expression was getting quite overused, I thought to myself—and replied, "I'm no lady. I'm a lowly apprentice to one of the King's Rangers. However, _you_ are my mentor, former apprentice of the world-renowned Ranger Halt, so I'm sure that _you_ should go first to show me how it should be done and, consequently, give me more experience in this matter."

In the silence that followed, I glanced desperately toward Old Bob and Jared, but Old Bob shrugged, grinning as he mouthed the words, _She outsmarted you this time,_ and Jared replied, "I would have told you if you hadn't glared at me and told me to be quiet."

I frowned again. That boy could have quite an attitude at times. Perhaps it hadn't been very wise for Old Bob to take him in...

I mentally shook my head at myself. How Old Bob made his choices was none of my business.

And then my face cleared and I sighed quietly, walking over to the bay mare, remarkably similar to my own. I mounted, and for a moment, I was transported back in time to the first days of my own apprenticeship with Halt, when I'd come to this very same place, in this very same position, mounted on top of a horse just waiting to buck me off. Then the moment passed and I lightly tapped the horse's side with my booted foot.

I scrunched my eyes shut, waiting for the violent corkscrewing of flesh that would fling me off and send me flying until I landed hard on my back.

It never happened.

I opened my eyes, imagining how silly I must look, as Jared and Old Bob burst into laughter. After a moment's hesitation, Ashlynn joined in.

"You're not the rider, Ranger," Old Bob said, clicking his tongue in amusement. "She knows that, and that's why she didn't do it."

"Do _what_?" Ashlynn asked in exasperation.

"You'll see," I said mysteriously, trying to regain my honor.

As she raised an eyebrow at me again, I realized my attempt was doomed to failure.

Then I dismounted, ushering her forward. She mounted cautiously, gave one last suspicious glance toward the three of us, smiling innocently at her, then tapped the horse's side lightly with her foot.

And then jumped off, diving for the ground and safety, as Mariah twisted violently, leaped into the air, came down on her front legs and kicked up her rear legs.

Apparently, Ashlynn hadn't reacted quite quickly enough. She landed awkwardly on her side, flung off Mariah half by her own dive and half by the horse, and was winded from her wild dive from the horse's back, because as she got up again, she was wheezing and coughing. Then she was able to breathe again.

She smiled tiredly at me. "Thank goodness there weren't any stirrups."

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><p>Review. Now. :) That's all I'm gonna say.<p> 


	12. Memory

58 reviews. Thanks, everyone! Sorry if I seem hurried/less enthusiastic today, but today was BIG cleanup day. MAJOR clean-up day. Yeah, and there's a camp-thing starting tomorrow, ending Friday, but I probably won't update until Sat. or Sun.

OK, enjoy the chapter.

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><p><strong>Memory<strong>

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><p><em>~Crowley's POV~<em>

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><p>I chewed on my quill reflectively, muttering to myself as I tried to find the precise wording needed for convincing the King's advisers to adopt the new plan of assessing Rangers that I'd created.<p>

Though I couldn't see him, I could just feel Halt's grin lurking just below the surface, threatening to come through yet somehow being pushed back. Halt had always been good at hiding his emotions.

_But not me,_ I thought as I threw my quill down in exasperation and turned toward him.

"Didn't you say Gilan and his new apprentice—the girl—were going to be arriving here? In, what, a matter of minutes?"

Halt nodded, his face tightening slightly at the mention of Gilan's name, I noticed.

"According to Will—and that's assuming that he could gather this sort of information accurately in the first place—" Halt said, completely straight-faced, "they should have left early yesterday morning, giving them plenty of time to get here today."

"Hey," Will protested. "I took a lot of time on that _detour_ to Castle Whitby, as you put it, Halt." Now Will snorted. "Some detour. It ended up delaying us by another hour!"

Peder, his wavy-haired apprentice, looked up at his mentor and asked, "Why didn't we just go with them? We could have taken their minds off their worry by passing the time with conversation."

I couldn't help joining in on this banter-like conversation. Raising an eyebrow, I said, "Young Peder, you honestly believe that Rangers pass the time on road trips with _conversation_?"

The boy gulped as my expression turned stern and forbidding, and I could definitely sense Halt chuckling to himself—on the inside, of course, so the boy wouldn't hear it—but then Will spoiled my fun by clearing his throat and saying, "He's joking."

Which, of course, was followed up by one of those famous glares aimed my way. It was uncanny how alike Halt and Will were, I mused to myself.

Just then, someone knocked three times on the door. And according to the rhythm of the secret Ranger's knock, too. Halt and I exchanged a glance, and then I gestured for Will to open the door.

Two cloaked, cowled Rangers stood there, nearly identical in size and stature. However, it was obvious once the hoods were flipped off the heads who was who. Gilan stood slightly in front, a grin lighting up his face as he spotted Will and Peder and I; he stood just barely taller than his apprentice. And as for his apprentice—Ashlynn, I believe Will had said, who was rather tense and straight-backed, I noticed—she nodded tightly toward Halt and I, obviously recognizing us as the senior Rangers. Then she greeted Will, saw Peder, and turned back toward her mentor to ask him something. It was in a very lowered tone—the merest whisper—and Halt and I couldn't hear it in our silver-haired state, but Will heard (he was closer to her, though) and glanced quickly back at us, as if to ask, _Why didn't you warn her that another apprentice would be watching?_

I shrugged in reply to his unspoken question and mouthed the words, _Because it'll keep her on her toes._

It was the old Ranger excuse for such a situation as this, and, feeling Will's reproachful glare on me for the second time in as many minutes, I knew that he knew the same excuse and its purpose.

Gilan had also been looking around the room. His jaw clenched visibly as he acknowledged his former teacher's nod, then relaxed as he saw Will silently rebuking me. The hint of a smile lurked at the corners of his mouth.

"Good afternoon," I said rather loudly in the awkward silence, causing Peder and Ashlynn to jump. Noticing that they had done the same action at the same time, they looked at each other in interest, then looked uncomfortably away again.

I hid a grin by turning to the side, prompting Halt to take up the narrative.

"Since neither of you—yes, that includes you, Will—consulted Crowley about your apprentices before taking them on, we'll be testing both Peder and..." Halt paused slightly, then continued, "and Ashlynn today. Outside."

Will cocked his head to one side suspiciously. "And _you_ checked with Crowley before making me your apprentice, right, Halt?"

"I certainly don't remember you doing that with _me_," Gilan forestalled Halt as he opened his mouth to answer. "Right, Crowley?"

"Right," I replied. "But keep in mind that things have changed drastically in the seven years since Will was first apprenticed to Halt. Morgarath's threat has been removed, his Wargal army stamped out, while our relations with Skandia, Arrida, and Hibernia have improved dramatically; however, the Scotti are more worrisome than before, as are the threats of possible traitors within the Kingdom itself."

"Don't forget about the Genovesans," Will cut in grimly.

I nodded. "That's right." Seeing the confused expressions on the apprentices' faces, I explained, "The Genovesans are assassins and poisoners. In fact, the term 'murdering swine' would be an accurate description of them and their purpose in life. Kill, kill, and kill again, mercilessly, pitilessly, causing all their victims to suffer in pain until they die."

The apprentices exchanged a horrified glance, then stood to attention as Halt walked over to inspect them. I myself studied them, though from a distance, and nodded in satisfaction. Both of them had their recurve bows strung and in the ready position, not slung over their shoulders uselessly. They both had the double scabbard and the two Ranger knives. Northseekers and maps of Araluen and its neighbors were present. And of course, the cloaks.

Halt grunted. "Good enough. Now let's go outside."

It wasn't much of a compliment, but I noticed the apprentices' heads come up fractionally.

A memory of my own days as an apprentice came back to me, and I grinned as I took up the rear, falling in step behind Will and Gilan, who exchanged an anxious glance. They were as nervous as their apprentices; they knew their reputations would be at stake if their apprentices weren't good enough in the series of tests Halt and I were holding today.

I wondered briefly what the girl would be like. Will had appraised me of her knife-throwing skills, yet had reported on her struggles to walk silently, and her tense attitude when it came to tests such as the ones she was about to face. Halt had informed me of Peder's eagerness to prove himself to Will and others, but also how "abysmal his focus was," and the poor state of his geography and other details the boy saw as "unimportant."

_So they each have their strengths and weaknesses,_ I mused as Halt led the two apprentices to the special archery range Castle Araluen hosted. Thankfully, we'd managed to reserve it for today so that no other amateur archers could distract the apprentices' attentions.

Will and Gilan watched tensely as Halt gave the apprentices their directions for shooting. Almost before he'd even finished speaking, Peder was nocking an arrow to the string and raising his bow. Ashlynn, I noticed, was slower in her motions, but had better accuracy than the boy, who'd been eager to finish first.

Halt watched from a short distance away, arms folded across his chest and mouth in a grim line.

_He never smiles,_ I thought. _At least, not outwardly._

The apprentices then moved on to the target range I'd personally set up specifically for the knife-throwing. Ashlynn's china-blue eyes brightened dramatically, and the instant Halt had finished the instructions, she was off, throwing her knives point-first into the centers of their targets. Peder wasn't as quick or accurate as her, but Halt was apparently satisfied with both apprentices' progress, because he next had them move to the unseen movement station, a clearing filled with plenty of convenient shadows for the apprentices to use. Gilan, I noticed, was especially interested in Ashlynn's progress here. But then again, it wasn't that much of a surprise; he was the Corps' master at unseen movement.

After that, Peder and Ashlynn were tested on their ability to move silently. I winced once as the loud _snap_ of a twig breaking under Ashlynn's foot filled the forest, but the rest of the time alloted to that station passed without incident.

And finally came the famous navigation, geography, and history tests. Peder chewed his lip an alarming amount of times on those tests, but Ashlynn also hesitated too long on several of the questions. In the end, however, it was obvious to see who was doing better—Ashlynn's eyes were getting brighter and brighter with each additional question she answered correctly, though I heard them definitely gaining in difficulty, while Peder was slightly sulky and tended to mumble incoherent answers.

Again, memories from my own apprenticeship filled my mind, particularly those involving Halt and I together at the Gathering, being tested by the other Rangers. In fact, I had been very similar to Peder, while Halt had passed with flying colors on most of the categories—much like Ashlynn.

"Hmm," I said softly. "Very interesting."

Then Halt came back over with the two apprentices, who handed their "score report" to their respective mentor. Will looked his apprentice up and down very seriously, then said, "I'm impressed with your silent and unseen movement, but very disappointed at your "pen-to-paper" skills. I hope you know what you need to work on. And I expect better from you in future, Peder."

Peder shifted his feet uncomfortably and nodded, then shot a quick glance over to where Gilan and Ashlynn were calmly talking over what had gone wrong during her tests. I took the opportunity of the mentors' and apprentices' distraction to slip over to Halt.

"The boy shows definite potential," Halt said quietly, "but I must admit I was more impressed with Ashlynn."

"Against your will," I pointed out calmly.

Halt nodded, a trifle uncomfortably, then continued, "When she stepped on that twig, she froze instantly, just like Gilan had taught her, just like I taught Will. I doubt anyone but a Ranger would have spotted her. And her memory..."

I gestured for him to go on.

He shook his head slowly. "Her memory is good. _Very_ good. Excellent, in fact."

"And that's important to being a Ranger?" I asked innocently, cocking my head to one side.

Halt's humorless dark eyes bored into mine. More memories flooded my brain as he replied flatly, "It's not just important, Crowley. It's vital."

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><p>I love Crowley. I LOVE him. Ahem, anyway, review. Please hurry. Yeah, I won't be able to check in a while, but anyway, hope you enjoyed.<p>

Happy 4th of July.


	13. Insanity

Computer access at camps help people update.

Anyway, thanks to Shadow, Music, Raider, Dodo (yes, you pronounce the e's in Peder like those in Peter), Arabella (I'm still going to keep her Gilan's apprentice, though), and Theodora. (sorry for messing that up, by the way...I have no idea how that happened. And also, blackmail is so much more useful than skill at times. Just make sure to tell your friend that Genovesans suck. Abominably.)

All right, I don't know how to say this tactfully, so I'll make it blunt: My grandmother is dying. She just had a major stroke and can't remember anyone or anything around her. And, to make things even worse, she's halfway across the world, so my mom is going to visit her. Which means I stay at home to help my step-dad and sister, so I probably will not have enough time to update. I'm not exactly sure how long my mom is going to stay there, or when she's coming back, so suffice it to say that I'm putting this story on a temporary hold until either she comes back, I get more time, or both.

And by the way, to any idiots out there who'd like to call the above paragraph an "excuse," I will track you down and kill you.

Yeah, I'm not exactly in the happiest mood. Which is ironic considering the contents of the following chapter.

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><p><strong>Insanity<strong>

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><p><em>~Peder's POV~<em>

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><p>"Are you <em>insane<em>?" I asked Ashlynn incredulously, eyes opened wide. I turned to my mentor and repeated my question, but this time in the third person. "Is she _insane_?"

The ghost of a smile flickered at the corners of Will's mouth as he replied, "Perhaps not her. But I believe a certain mentor may be to blame for not..._converting_ her to our cause." And then he glared at Gilan with such passion that the room started smoldering.

Gilan shifted uncomfortably, then replied, very obviously not meeting my mentor's gaze, "I...haven't really had a chance yet to...er, _convert_ her, as you very nicely put it."

Will continued to glare at him, then said, "Rangers drink coffee, period. They love it. In fact, they hoard it and steal it from other Rangers and the coffee shops. No, actually, we Rangers _worship_ it. Particularly the variety with honey spooned into it. _Especially_ the coffee with honey spooned into it."

Again, Gilan shifted uncomfortably. His eyes slid away from Will's angry stare as he said in a very low voice, "But not all Rangers like honey spooned into their coffee."

"Well then," Will said slowly, "perhaps we should ask Ashlynn and see what _she_ thinks." And before Gilan could even open his mouth to protest, Will was turning toward Ashlynn.

"So, Ashlynn, what do you _really_ think about coffee?" he asked.

"It's disgusting and bitter and dirty," she replied instantly.

Will actually reeled back in shock at her words, though I'm sure I did too. How could _anyone_ think such a thing? Well, maybe a girl that grew up on a farm for all sixteen years of her life _could_ think that.

But not after being a Ranger apprentice for over a month.

"Gilan! What in the world did you do to poison this young girl's mind so much?" a deep voice asked from behind us. The four of us at the table-Will, Gilan, Ashlynn, and I-turned around to see Crowley standing there, grinning as he swept his sandy-blonde hair out of his face. Ashlynn and I instinctively stood up to give our seats to the Commandant, but he laughed, waved us off, and pulled out a chair from in front of the fireplace to sit in.

Though Ashlynn and I had finished our "preliminary" tests (or so Halt and Crowley called them) more than a week ago, the six of us had all traveled back to Will's cabin in Redmont. Gilan had given me some much-needed tuition in the "pen-to-paper" portions of being a Ranger, while Crowley had helped Ashlynn improve her silent movement skills dramatically. Then, the two of us had trained together in archery, helped by Will and Halt.

I liked being faster than Ashlynn at shooting, but my archery skills were dust compared to Ashlynn's moves in unarmed or knife combat. Dang, was she fast. And merciless, too. If she caught you unawares, you had better have been prepared for _anything_. But then again, you were caught unawares, so actually, you should have been prepared to DIE.

And on that happy thought, I returned to the present as Crowley turned to me and asked, "What about you, Peder? Have you fallen prey to the _disgusting coffee _syndrome as well? Or did your mentor do a better job than poor, disillusioned Gilan here?"

"Oh, a _much_ better job, I would think," Will interjected scathingly. "I, at least, managed to get my apprentice _addicted_ to honey-spooned coffee within a week."

Suddenly, a cloaked figure seemed to rise out of the shadows next to me. I yelled and scrabbled backward in my chair, then stopped when I realized it was Halt.

"That's debatable," he said, completely straight-faced. "After all, Peder still isn't addicted to coffee now. Though I must admit that you have a huge advantage over Gilan, who in over a month of training Ashlynn didn't get her to have even a _quarter_ of a cup of coffee."

There was a slightly awkward silence in the cabin as Will, Gilan, and Crowley started exchanging glances with each other. I began grinning once I realized (way late) that Halt had just managed to conceal his presence not only from Ashlynn and I, the apprentices, but also from his two former pupils _and_ the Ranger Corps Commandant!

Then Ashlynn broke the silence by saying proudly, "Actually, I didn't even have a single drop."

Even Halt's jaw dropped down all the way to the ground. Will was back to glaring at Gilan, Crowley was exchanging a horrified glance with me, and Ashlynn was sitting there looking very pleased with herself.

"She _is_ insane," I said suddenly in half-awe, half-disbelief.

"And we're going to have to change that," Halt said firmly, taking hold of one of Ashlynn's wrists while I took hold of the other. "Let's go."

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><p><em>~Gilan's POV~<em>

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><p>I sincerely hoped that nobody had honestly believed that I hadn't introduced Ashlynn to coffee. It was all a HUGE practical joke that I was practically having a heart attack over currently. I mean, I was bent over, wheezing and choking and coughing, and tears were threatening to tumble down my face in gallons.<p>

I was proud of myself, though! I mean, it wasn't often that I could hide my emotions that well.

After all, not even Halt had guessed what the true meaning of my endangered health was. (I was still rather..._unpleasant_ toward him after our "incident" in Redmont, though.)

Once, halfway between my cabin and the village coffee shop, Crowley and Halt both looked curiously back at me, then exchanged slightly worried glances with each other.

"You...um, alright there, Gil?" Will asked, a trifle uncertainly, from his position at the front as he lead the way.

"_/cough/_ Er, yeah..._/cough/ _I'm..._/cough/_ alright. _/cough/_ I think."

"If you say so," Will said doubtfully.

"So...where exactly are you guys taking me?" Ashlynn asked, left and right wrists still held by Peder and Halt, respectively.

Everyone, even me, looked at her, scandalized. The five of us were rendered speechless for several moments, but then Halt cleared his throat and spoke, in a tone that indicated the answer was an obvious one.

"To the coffee shop. So that we can show you all the wonderful varieties of coffee that Araluen imports and exports. Though the Arridi's rich, black coffee is certainly the best," he added after a slight pause.

"True," Peder felt the need to interject. "But still, no self-respecting Ranger can become a true part of the Corps unless they enjoy coffee made from scratch in Araluen."

"Love it, you mean," Will corrected him, with a huge sense of superiority.

"More like become _addicted_ to it," Crowley put in helpfully, a smug look on his face.

Halt looked at the three of them dryly, that eyebrow raised once again. "If you three are done with the speech debate now, I think we'll _force_ Ashlynn to test some of this excellent coffee."

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><p><em>~Ashlynn's POV~<em>

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><p>Dang, they <em>still<em> had _not_ figured it out.

I mean, seriously, how hard could it be? Gilan was always one to joke around. And he appeared to have passed on some of those light-hearted habits to me, even during the simple six weeks that I'd been a Ranger apprentice. But really only one-and-a-half weeks if you would only count the time I spent as an _official_ Ranger apprentice.

I was doing my best to hide my emotions, and was definitely having more success with that than my mentor (whom I could clearly hear snorting and coughing and wheezing behind me in a myriad of half-failed attempts to hold back his laughter), but I was pretty sure it would only be a matter of time before the two of us exploded in our barely-concealed humor.

Still, what Gilan had said was _partly_ correct. I still wasn't addicted to coffee after more than six weeks in his presence. Nor did I even _want_ to be. In fact, I didn't even want to _think_ about getting addicted to coffee, not even the variety with honey spooned into it.

I wasn't saying that it was an awful, slimy mess, even though I'd come pretty close to saying those words earlier when Will had been interrogating me. I was simply saying (in my mind, at least) that it just wasn't the drink to get me _addicted_ to. I would gladly enjoy a nice, warm cup of it on a cold, blustery night. But I wouldn't drink ten cups of it per day, as Gilan said that was how much Halt, Will, and Horace ('cause seriously, who _hasn't_ heard of those three?) drank _daily_.

Then I returned to the present, blinking as Halt handed me a steaming-hot mug. Thankfully, he'd had the presence of mind (but did he ever not?) to wrap a towel around the cup so that it wouldn't scald my hands.

"Which flavor is this?" Gilan asked curiously, sniffing the coffee carefully. "Smells like peppermint."

Halt and Will both looked at him sarcastically. "You _think_?" Will asked dryly. "Maybe they put the peppermint in to _disguise_ the taste of _poo_ in there."

Gilan contented himself with a glare pointed Will's way, then turned back to me and said, "All right then, Ashlynn. Let's see what you make of it." When I hesitated, he gestured for me to go on.

Slowly, hesitantly, I raised the mug to my lips. I could feel the others' excitement, sense their expectant feelings, hear their rapidly speeding-up breaths.

I took a sip, swallowed, and paused.

And then I dumped out the rest of the coffee onto the dry, mud-caked ground.

Looking over at Gilan in the shocked silence, I shook my head and said, "No. Too minty."

And so it went. I must have tried fifty dozen different flavors and styles of coffee that day, and each time, there was something wrong with it (to _my_ taste buds, at least). This one was too salty, that one much too bitter. The next one was far too sweet, and the one after that was horribly sour-tasting. Too hot. Too cold. Too warm. Too cool. Too soupy. Too creamy. Too thin. Too bland.

And even when the Rangers (besides Gilan, of course) started getting desperate and added _honey_ to each and every one of the coffee varities and flavors that I'd already tried, something was wrong. In fact, the honey _magnified_ the "errors" I'd already mentioned to the scandalized senior Rangers, graduate Ranger, and Ranger apprentice.

Eventually, as Halt wordlessly handed me my _fourth_ cup of the peppermint-flavored coffee, mixed with three enormous spoonfuls of wild honey, I was tired of it all. A joke was a joke, but this had been going on for far too long now. And besides, the Rangers had been paying for all those cups of coffee with money out of their own pockets.

So I had to stop them somehow.

If I simply told them it had all been a practical joke, they'd probably murder Gilan and I right here right now. But me first since I was the one doing almost all of the acting.

But if I acted like I still hated it...

Abruptly, I whirled around and stalked away, shoving the cup of coffee into Peder's hands.

"Hey, Ashlynn," he called as I stomped away from the coffee shop. "Where are you going?"

"Home!" I shouted back, not even bothering to turn around.

Though I wasn't quite sure, I thought Peder just might have muttered, "She really _is_ insane," under his breath.

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><p>So, there it was. A strangely light-hearted chapter considering my "dark" sided personality coming out right now. Hmm.<p>

Review. I'll put up two chapters if you do.


	14. Misfortune

Ah, 68 reviews...I love you guys. :) Yep, I'm feeling much better now.

Anyway, there will be some...unpleasant..._female_ stuff later in this promised 2nd chapter. Later. Not now. When I do Evanlyn's POV, you can skip that section if the _female_ stuff will make you uncomfortable.

Anyway, thanks to ME, Raider, Shadow, and Music for their reviews!

Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Misfortune<strong>

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><p><em>~Gilan's POV~<em>

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><p>After Ashlynn stormed away (though I knew that it was all an act) and the remaining five of us were left gaping open-mouthed after her, Will somehow recovered his senses first and turned to me.<p>

"Convince her to stay here in Redmont, will you?"

"And...why is that, exactly?" I asked, though I thought I already knew the answer, thanks to a tip from Crowley earlier.

Will shrugged. "Oh, no big deal...it's just that it's Horace's birthday today. And he's coming to Castle Redmont later today, along with Evanlyn, of course, for a huge dinner party."

I nodded. "I see. And you chose _today_ to tell me, of all days."

Will hesitated, then grinned sheepishly. I grinned back at him as he replied, "Well, yes."

"Just as well that I got him a gift, then," I said, smiling impishly as I pulled out a small, wrapped box from a hidden inside pocket on my cloak.

Will regarded it curiously. Not much would fit in there. He asked, "What do you have in there, anyway?"

I smiled again. "Oh, nothing too fancy. You'll see soon enough."

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><p><strong>AN: Normally, I hate Horace's guts, but after the 10th book I've started detesting him and that stuck-up brat of a princess Cassandra a little less. Repeat: a _little_ less. But still...it'll be interesting to see what I make of their characters...**

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><p><em>~Horace's POV~<em>

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><p>Evanlyn and I were riding side by side, talking quietly about the upcoming dinner party at Redmont. Since she was traveling semi-incognito for this "special occasion," as Will had so nicely put it when we'd told him about the event location, I was addressing her by her late maid's name and not by her official title.<p>

By the same token, she wasn't addressing me by _my_ official title, either. And thank goodness for that. I didn't think I'd ever get used to the feeling of being a future King.

"So..." Evanlyn's voice jolted me from my thoughts, and as I glanced sidelong at her, I couldn't help marveling at my good fortune. Here I was, a lowly orphan of Redmont's Ward, talking and laughing with the Crown Princess of Araluen, with her beautiful blond hair and tomboyish green gaze, betrothed and engaged to her, to-be King of all Araluen.

Life was good, I thought, grinning, as Evanlyn's voice broke into my musings again.

"Horace, dear? Are you alright?"

I smiled at her. "Never been better."

And with that profound statement of epiphany, we arrived at Redmont's gates.

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><p><em>~Evanlyn's POV~<em>

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><p>The food was amazing, the guests were wonderful, and the presents were astounding.<p>

Jenny's reputation truly had been well-founded, I reflected as I smacked my lips after yet another piece of apple pie. Then I glanced down at my belt and tunic with some worry. Both felt at least three sizes smaller now, which was a surprise with all the exercise I got.

Still, I thought, shrugging, I could always do more workouts later. At this party, however, it was time to enjoy myself.

I smiled as Will and Alyss came over, walking hand in hand. Thank goodness I was friends with Alyss now. As I'd told her several months back, it would have been severely awkward for our future husbands to have wives that hated each other's guts.

"So, Will, when are we going to be celebrating _your_ birthday party?" I asked, gently teasing him.

He grinned at me, signifying that he took no offense at the jibe. "Oh, sometime off in the future," he replied loftily. "Don't let it concern you."

"November 21st, to be exact," Alyss interjected, smiling slightly as Will turned a scandalized look on her.

I smiled again. "And what about the dazzling Courier, Lady Alyss?"

"April 23rd," the two of them replied at the same time.

"Hey! There are others here at this party, you know," a mock reproachful voice said from behind me. I turned around to see Gilan, grinning as always, arm wrapped casually around Jenny; the two of them were followed by someone slightly shorter than Gilan wrapped in a Ranger cloak...

I frowned momentarily, then had it. It could only be Ashlynn, the first female Ranger apprentice.

"Good evening, _Sir_ Gilan and Lady Jenny," I replied with mock formality, stressing Gilan's title as he was a Swordmaster as well as a Ranger. "And to you, too, Miss Ashlynn. And if you don't mind, I'd like to see that grim, gray-and-green hood down off your head, please. Traveling ladies enjoy seeing party guests' faces," I told her, smiling to take any harsh edge out of my words.

Gilan turned around and laughed as his apprentice self-consciously pushed her cloak cowl away from her face.

"Ashlynn, these people are not out to get you, you know," Gilan said, smiling. "Least of all the Crown Princess, future Queen."

She pretended to ignore him and went straight to me with her right hand held out.

"Pleased to meet you, Lady Evanlyn," she said as we shook hands. "Gilan and Will have told me a lot about you."

"Is that so?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at them so that they both grinned sheepishly. "Well, I suppose I may have to tell you about _them_. Come on now, let's go."

So I led the bewildered girl by her shoulders away from the two Rangers and their very obvious lovers to a relatively empty part of the dance floor, close to the music entertainers so that no one would hear us.

"Peder's in there, playing the violin," Ashlynn suddenly said, jerking her head toward the two violin sections and grinning.

I smiled back. "I hope he doesn't humiliate Will too much."

We both laughed at that, then spotted him and waved. But once Peder's eyes were back onto his music, I gripped Ashlynn's arm and said, in a very low voice, "Your monthly's come, hasn't it?"

Her china-blue eyes widened, and I thought I saw several tears shining in them, but then she blinked rapidly and the moment was gone. She said, equally as quietly as my question, "Yes." And then she felt the need to ask the question, "How did you know?"

"I can sense those sort of things," I replied. "After all, I'm probably the first Crown Princess of Araluen that actually left the borders of her own country for adventurous reasons. The rest probably only ever traveled to Gallica for stuffy diplomatic reasons." I paused, then added, "No offense to Lady Alyss or Lady Pauline, of course, but that's the way it was."

Ashlynn nodded, a trifle uncomfortably.

I cleared my throat and lowered my voice even more. "I know how awful it is when you're riding on a horse. I had to face it all the way here from Castle Araluen."

Her lowered gaze suddenly perked up to meet mine. Her mouth opened and I nodded, already knowing what she would ask, and then said, "Yes, I'm going through it right now, too. Its timing is so misfortunate...wait, unfortunate," I corrected myself, grinning, "but better it than nothing, right?"

Ashlynn shrugged slightly. "If you say so."

I appraised her, a little worriedly. There wasn't really a way I could help her out now, not if she was feeling _that_ horrible, but maybe...maybe...

Suddenly, inspiration struck me and I cried excitedly, "Yes! I _can_ make you feel more comfortable! Come with me! The healer will have just the thing for you."

And then, I took Ashlynn by the hand and led her, half-running, half-stumbling, out of Redmont's Great Hall toward the castle doors and Wensley Village, not caring that most of the other guests were staring at me as if I'd gone insane.

Maybe I _had_...

* * *

><p><em>~Ashlynn's POV~<em>

* * *

><p>The linen cloth the healer had given me worked wonders. Instantly, I felt better, more comfortable, and happier in general. I smiled gratefully at Lady Evanlyn (she'd told me just to call her by her incognito name, since she didn't want all the formalities and groveling restricting her and everyone else at such an informal birthday and dinner party) and said, "Thank you. So much."<p>

She grinned and replied, "No problem, Ashlynn. Now go off and enjoy yourself, because I have to go find Horace."

I followed her directions and wandered around the dance floor for a while, no doubt looking lost to the other party guests, but I didn't care. I'd discarded my Ranger cloak and left it draped over Mariah's saddle after leaving the healer's office, so most people didn't recognize me, and I was fine with that.

I sighed and decided to lean against the wall in the shadows so that no one would see me. As my gaze wandered around the scores of dancers, I instantly recognized Lady Evanlyn, dancing with who could only be her betrothed and future King, Sir Horace. Then there were Will and Alyss...Halt and his wife, Lady Pauline...Gilan and Jenny...

My stomach jolted slightly at that last pair. Oh, she'd been pleasant enough when greeting me, with Gilan watching, of course. But she'd made it obvious (not that it wasn't plain enough to see already) that Gilan was hers, and _only_ hers. After all, once Crowley and Will had distracted Gilan's attention with some or other report from the King, Jenny had faced me with absolute coolness and told me to "bug off," as she put it.

She obviously thought I'd become his apprentice only because he was good-looking. I gritted my teeth and muttered under my breath that she was wrong, and that I would prove her wrong a hundred times (at the very least) before I died.

I contented myself with a Death Glare pointed her way, imagining that I could knock her down just by looking at her, and felt a huge sense of satisfaction when she paled slightly and stepped back from Gilan. Only one step back, but it was enough for me. I smiled grimly. One down, ninety-nine to go.

"Not the most mature way of proving her wrong, perhaps," a deep voice next to me said mildly.

I jumped back in shock, then relaxed once I realized that it was Halt. But I couldn't help wondering how he'd known what I'd been trying to do, so I asked, "And how would you have done it?"

"Simple," Halt replied, then continued rapidly, "I would have gained her trust by piling on the flattery, and all the while be secretly gaining Gilan's admiration so that he would enjoy spending time with me rather than with her. And then I'd embarrass her in front of everyone who'd previously respected her...most likely by spreading rumors or scandalous words...but anyway, after that, I'd plead with everyone else to help your cause because it would by then be so obvious that Gilan liked you better than her, so then she would be disillusioned and disheartened ever more, and Gilan and you would both be extremely happy. Understand?"

I blinked several times. "Uh...could you repeat that, please, sir?"

I was surprised to see, as I looked up, the ghost of a smile lifting the corners of Halt's mouth. Will, Gilan, and Crowley had all impressed upon me many times (too many times to count, actually) that one: Halt disliked showing emotions, two: when he smiled, it probably was not good for the state of your health, and three: he smiled so rarely that his mouth was forever a straight line. Forever and always.

"And besides," I said quietly, "I wouldn't think of doing that. I would be ashamed of myself for the rest of my life."

"You wouldn't think of doing _what_?" Halt asked, too innocently.

I rolled my eyes in exasperation. "Doing what _you_ just suggested. I'm not going to ruin her reputation in front of the entire Kingdom."

"Perhaps not, but only _half_ the Kingdom is here right now, not the _whole_ Kingdom," Halt replied, completely straight-faced.

I sighed. "Honestly, I can understand why Gilan and Will love to torture you now."

Very strangely, he grinned at me now and said, without missing a beat, "This? Torture? I consider this _payback_ for your loathing of coffee."

I rolled my eyes again. "Oh, please. Not that again."

Earlier in the party, before Horace had opened all his presents and gifts (including two caricatures of Horace and Evanlyn, to be placed on their wedding cake, from Gilan), Crowley, Halt, Will, and Peder had managed to corner me outside the Great Hall, where it had been so loud I couldn't hear myself think.

With my luck, they'd managed to raise a whole shouting storm at me until Gilan had noticed and come to my rescue. I'd caught his quick wink, telling me not to give anything away...yet.

No, the time for that would probably not come until the Gathering. Which was..._dear God_...only six months away.

In that amount of time, I had to learn all the skills that a normal Ranger apprentice would get a full year to complete. If I didn't miss any more training, I'd be lucky to get in seven-and-a-half months.

Of course, with my luck, again, I'd get something more like less than half-a-year.

And my estimate was confirmed (though I wasn't to know it then) as a panting, half-dead messenger ran into the future King.

* * *

><p>And on that stunning note, I leave you for an indeterminate amount of time. Please don't kill me.<p>

Now review! I'll sing the Happy Birthday song to you! (my lil' sis's b-day's in two days...) XD


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